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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27835567">Truth in Myths</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/laadychat/pseuds/laadychat'>laadychat</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Avatar is considered a myth, But is it really?, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Gen, Kinda, Modern AU, Slow Burn, also a bit of reincanation, also kinda slow burn but also not really, because i didn't consider it one till now, mythology research, same with bending, they work on their communication and relationship, we shall see</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:20:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>35,040</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27835567</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/laadychat/pseuds/laadychat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They haven't seen each other in years - their biggest fight forcing them to be separated by their friends. And now, a chance, a fluke really, had them sitting next to each other during a class. They have to navigate on how to be friends now that they are doing a project together.</p><p>But this project was going to do more than bring them closer. It was going to open a different world to them as well.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Katara/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>106</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>231</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>couldn't get this idea out of my head so of course I had to share it with you all.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Katara was a good student. </p><p>She always got good grades and did her hardest to understand every material. She also very punctual when it came to attending lectures. </p><p>By punctual, she meant entering the classroom at least five minutes early. And that was pushing it, still. </p><p>But for some reason, be it the will of the gods or the curses of the spirits, she was running late today for her mythology class. It was the first day of it and she did not want to give a bad first impression.</p><p>Katara was surprised when she was accepted to the class - it was a very popular one and she chalked it up to luck. It wasn’t part of her major but she needed one more elective and this was the only one that caught her attention. </p><p>Speed walking across campus, she checked her phone and let out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t exactly late - she'd make it through the door just as the class began but her biggest concern was where she would sit. Katara liked sitting as close to the front as possible and if this teacher was as great as people made her out to be, she didn't want to miss a single word from the lecture. </p><p>Just as she predicted, she walked into the room on time. Her shoulders relaxed further when she realized that the teacher wasn't there yet but then her eyes landed on the only empty chair available. </p><p>It wasn't ideal - a bit far from the center of the room, but it was closer to the door, so she deemed it acceptable. </p><p>Sure, they might have been others if she really spent the time to check but the teacher would be arriving any minute and she didn't want to waste any more time. </p><p>Making her way to it, she set her things down and slumped into the chair with a sigh. Pulling out her tablet, she looked around as she waited for it to start up. </p><p>The class was small - only about twenty-four or five students -  and Katara liked this better. Smaller classes made her feel more grounded, more connecting, and the teachers spent a longer time helping around. </p><p>When the front doors opened once again and an older lady stepped in, she felt herself smile until she caught sight of who exactly was sitting next to her. </p><p>She couldn't believe she missed it the first time she swept her eyes around the room looking for a seat. </p><p>Or the second time. </p><p>But she noticed it now and she wanted to scream. </p><p>Next to her, with that annoying smirk and that raised eyebrow, was Zuko. </p><p><em> Zuko Hokom </em>. </p><p>Her arch-enemy, Zuko. </p><p>And from the amused expression and the way his arms were crossed, he was waiting for her to notice him. </p><p>She had to move. </p><p>Closing her jaw with a snap, she jerked around, ready to start shoving her stuff back into her back when the instructor chose the moment to start talking. </p><p>And Katara was a good student. She wasn’t going to interrupt her while she started. She wasn't going to have people whisper if she decided to suddenly get up and walk away, especially if there wasn't an extra seat available. </p><p>Lowering herself back on the chair, she let out a slow breath. Today, she'll stay, but next time, she was going to make sure she was far from him. </p><p>But when she heard the low snicker from her right, she forced herself not to react, not to show him that he had any effect on her. </p><p>And maybe she was a bit dramatic but this was Zuko, so she thinks her dramaticness was properly warranted. </p><p>Grinding her teeth, she angled herself away and forced herself to focus on the instructor and not on the man by her. </p><p>She just had to wake up when she did. If her alarm had gone off when it was supposed to, she wouldn't be in this mess. </p><p>Yeah, she was maybe just a tad be dramatic. </p><p>She met Zuko in her first year here and... interesting was definitely a way to describe it. He was her brother’s friend and that was how he was introduced to her as. </p><p>And she thought he was a cool guy, awkward, but cool. Someone she could be friends with. </p><p>But then that argument happened. <em> The </em> argument. Katara doesn’t remember how it started but she does remember the ending and wasn’t a pretty sight.</p><p>Then it was all downhill from there.</p><p>They couldn’t be in the same room for long before one of them said something that ended with their friends forcibly removing them from the area.</p><p>Katara felt bad– she hated the position she put on her friends. And if she was being truthful, she started half those fights. But just when she regretted it, just when she wanted to apologize, he would say something just as equally biting and it was starting the next fight.</p><p>And then one day, he was knocking on her door. At first, Katara just wanted to slam the door in his face, but he had looked so… down, she couldn’t.</p><p>He had come to talk to her, to fix whatever went wrong with them, and it was going really well at first. Katara thought that maybe they could put all the nastiness behind them. But then, she doesn’t remember what exactly caused it, but they had another fight. A <em> big </em>one. One that reduced her to tears and him slamming the door as he left. Their friends then forbade them from ever being alone with each other again.</p><p>And Katara was fine with that. In fact, she never saw him again and soon he was gone from her mind completely.</p><p>Her friend Suki tried to get her to talk about it once but she had shut it down immediately. She didn’t want to admit that the reason behind those two major rights was because she <em> herself </em> didn’t know what they were. </p><p>Last she heard, he was back at the Fire Nation due to some family issues and Katara left it at that. Though, she would be lying if she said the thought of him didn’t cross her mind a handful of times in the past couple of years.</p><p>Now here she was, sitting next to the very man. She was going to behave and not start anything with him; she just had to endure this hour and a half class and she wouldn’t sit next to him ever again if she could it. Katara wasn’t going to let him distract her. She had a GPA to maintain and Zuko wasn’t going to be the reason why it dipped. </p><p>“Welcome all, yada yada - let’s just dive right in. I want to start by saying it is very hard to fail this course and I made it that way purposely. This is an elective for most of you and I’m sure you have other subjects that require a great amount of your time–” Katara already liked her. “–so this course won’t be like that. You’ll have one major project to do all quarter and then a presentation on it at the very end.”</p><p>This was exactly the type of class Katara was hoping to have this term. All her other courses were going to be time-consuming and if she didn’t have to worry about this class, all the better for her. But when the teacher glanced around, a smile tugging on her face, she felt a stone drop in the pit of her stomach. Usually, that was the look teachers gave when–</p><p>“This is not a solo project. Introduce yourselves to the person next to you as they will be your partner for the term. Then we’ll take roll.”</p><p>–when there was a group project.</p><p>She was not going to be partnered with Zuko. Turning her head to the left, she nearly let out a frustrated huff when the girl sitting there was already talking to the person on <em> her </em>left.</p><p>And she knew there wasn’t anyone sitting on Zuko’s right.</p><p>Still, Katara looked around, hoping against all hope that there was someone else who didn’t have a partner. But true to the pattern of her luck so far, everyone else was already talking to each other.</p><p>Sighing in defeat, she realized she didn’t have any other choice. Zuko was going to be working with her on this project.</p><p>Squaring up her shoulder, she slowly turned around, hiding a grimace when she caught his lazy grin of his. He was leaning back in his seat, his hands behind his head, and this time, Katara did scowl.</p><p>“Looks like we’re partners.”</p><p>His voice sounded deeper than the last time she heard it and she nearly smacked herself for even noticing it.</p><p>“Unfortunately,” she muttered under her breath. “What great luck.”</p><p>He threw her an impish grin and she rolled her eyes. This wasn’t at all how she expected her day to go and now, she couldn’t duck away from him. She would have to work on a project with him for <em> months. </em></p><p>Sighing for what felt like the thousandth time of the day, she held out her hand. “Your phone.”</p><p>Despite her history with Zuko, she was going to make sure this project goes smoothly. It’ll be the damn best project this teacher has ever seen or her name wasn’t Katara Emah. </p><p>“I’m flattered, Katara.” He chuckled as he held out his phone and a jolt shot through Katara from the way he said her name. At how natural it sounded on his tongue. And if Katara was being honest, she never deleted his number from her phone.</p><p>There were times where she wanted to and then she actually did after their last fight. But when Suki came over, she snuck her phone to find his number and added it once again. </p><p>And maybe she was lying earlier when she said she hardly thought of him. She thought of him a lot. Embarrassingly a lot. It stemmed from the fact that before they fell into the feud of theirs, he was someone she genuinely liked talking to. It was like no one understood her better.</p><p>After that night, she withdrew from her friends a bit, withdrew into a shell of herself, and she couldn’t take the easy road and blame it on him completely because she was just at fault for their fall out. And it ate at her, how she couldn’t just call him out and have one of their talks.</p><p>Katara wasn’t going to admit all of this. Not when he had his chin on his palm, watching her with that cocky smile of his. </p><p>Then when she typed in her number, her breath caught in her throat and every quieted down to just the screen in front of her.</p><p>He had her number.</p><p>He still had her as ‘Kit-Kat’.</p><p>He still had that photo of her as the icon.</p><p>
  <em> He didn’t delete her number. </em>
</p><p>Taking in a shaky breath, she closed her eyes. She hadn’t expected him to still have her number but then again, she still had his.</p><p>Did he want to reach out to her the way she had wanted to? Were there nights she also thought of her?</p><p>Katara shook her head. She couldn’t think about that, about what it could all imply. That would open up a can of worms she wasn’t prepared for. When her breathing steadied, she handed his phone back and she could have sworn the edges around his smile softened but she turned around quickly.</p><p>She heard a sigh come from his direction but her attention was firmly on the instructor now. And when she started talking, she relaxed her shoulders.</p><p>“Alright! Now, let’s get started with this project. You will be picking a myth and studying more in-depth of it. Pretty vague, I know.” She smiled and Katara understood why everyone liked her. “That is because I want you to decide the direction you want to pursue. You just have to pile up an interesting presentation of it at the end of the term. Whatever myth you decide to do, run it by me first so no two projects are on the same topic. You have until the end of class to decide.”</p><p>She has become Katara’s favorite teacher already. </p><p>Tapping her chin, she thought through the myths she knew and stories her Gran Gran would tell her when she was younger. </p><p>Her favorite one had to do with this person the world called ‘The Avatar’. They were the keepers of harmony and protectors of peace. Someone whose sole job was keeping the world balanced. It intrigued her – how one word from them could stop nations on the brinks of war, stop the rich from stealing, and it was a myth she wished wasn’t a myth but in fact, a reality.</p><p>Twisting in her chair, she ignored the flutter of her heart when she caught him already staring at her. “Have you ever heard of ‘The Avatar’?”</p><p>He blinked and straightened up in the chair as if she surprised him. “Actually, I have. I was about to suggest it.”</p><p>Of course, he was going to suggest it. She forgot how similar they were.</p><p>Brushing that thought away, she nodded. “So it’s decided.” She stopped. There was nothing else she had to say after that. The rest of the hour was supposed to be spent just finding a topic and with that out of the way already, there was no reason why Katara had to entertain him. No reason to continue to talk to him. They had the whole term to finish this project and she could text him tomorrow instead of staying in the classroom.</p><p>She could but she found herself talking anyway. “What do you know about it?”</p><p>If he was thrown off by her start of the conversation, he hid it well. Leaning back in his chair, she shrugged. “Not much– just that they were what kept the world balanced. That when the Avatar vanished, there was chaos everywhere.”</p><p>“Huh,” she opened up the note pad app on her tablet. “I don’t know a lot about it either. Let me jolt down what we do know so we have something to work off of.”</p><p>He stood up, startling her. A snippy remark was already on tip of her tongue but she bit it down last minute. They were in the middle of the class, and she couldn’t go looking for a fight when this was the first civil conversation they’ve had in years.</p><p>As if knowing what happened, he raised an eyebrow. “I’m just going to tell the instructor of our topic before someone else takes it.”</p><p>Rolling her eyes, she felt the heat crawl up her neck. “I didn’t say anything.”</p><p>“Whatever you say, Kit-Kat,” he responded back but before she could retaliate, he was gone, walking down the steps and Katara didn’t want to admit how much she actually missed that nickname.</p><p>If she could barely last the past few minutes, how was she suppose to last all term? They were going to have to meet outside of the classroom to work on it and maybe even visit either of their places.</p><p>That’s when Katara realized she couldn’t invite him over. Not when Suki or Toph would grill her if they ever found out. They had a habit of popping in whenever they felt like it and she could imagine how it would go down if they stopped by while he was over.</p><p>She paused and then nearly banged her head on the desk. They said only a handful of sentences to each after years apart and she was thinking about the possibility of inviting him over. There was only one reason she could think of for this and it was because she had finally gone crazy. It was the only logical explanation.</p><p>But he had her number still and that was messing with her.</p><p>Before she was able to properly gather her wits, he was slipping back into his seat. “Good news, no one else picked that topic. She also is excited to see what we do because no one chose to do the Avatar as a topic in years.”</p><p>They just had to pick a topic the teacher was looking forward to.</p><p>Twirling the stylus with her fingers, she allowed herself only a spare glance in his direction. “Guess we have no choice but to sweep her off her feet, then.”</p><p>He let out a small laugh and leaned down to pull a similar tablet out of his schoolbag. He had a nice laugh. “Guess so. So, how are doing this?”</p><p>Katara shrugged. She wasn’t entirely sure where to start. “We spend some time just browsing around. Let’s just hope there’s actually stuff about them.”</p><p>“We can do anything surrounding the Avatar, right?”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“Well,” he tapped on his device before showing her it. “A while ago, I found this other thing about people who could control certain elements and I didn’t read much about it, but now that I remember it,” he nodded his head towards the tablet. “The Avatar was believed to control all the elements.”</p><p>“Elements?” Eyebrows raised, she leaned in clear to get a better look at the tablet. “Like water and fire?”</p><p>He nodded. “As well as earth and air.”</p><p>Reading over the short article, Katara couldn’t understand why no one did this project. Already, it was the most interesting myth she’s heard of.</p><p>“People mostly go for the soulmate myth.” He sounded amused. “Looks like we got our work cut out for ourselves.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Katara agreed mindlessly, her eyes now on her own device. She was so distracted by the lack of information she found in her initial search that it took her a moment to realize they just had a decent conversation. When she did notice, she stiffened. This was how it usually went– they start out civil before it got heated and she was afraid. Afraid that they would devolve into their petty arguments once again but the longer the silence stretched, she felt herself loosen up slightly. No talking meant no chance for the conversation to go south.</p><p>When a few more moments of quietness passed by them, she risked the chance to look at him. He was scrolling through his device, the creases on his forehead showing how invested he was in the topic.</p><p>He was always the ‘go-big-or-go-home’ type.</p><p>That was how it went for the rest of the class time. With only a few words breaking the silence between them, it was uneventful. By the time the class came to end, she was willing to put aside the history between them, if only to keep the peace.</p><p>And what they found so far was intriguing to her. They had to really dig through the internet to find anything useful to their search and it only grew more interesting from there on. So interesting, that she hadn’t realized how close they were sitting until the instructor dismissed them.</p><p>Feeling herself flush, she quickly pulled away and started shoving her things into her bag. His laughter let her know that she wasn’t as slick as she was trying to be.</p><p>“Well, it was a pleasure to work with you, Kit-Kat,” he had on that lazy smile again. He stood up and was he always that tall? And that shirt looked really good on him… </p><p>Mortified had her train of thought, she scowled. Pointing at him, she raised an eyebrow. “Behave yourself.”</p><p>He had the audacity to salute at her. “Yes, ma’am.”</p><p>She felt her jaw drop and before she could come up with a proper response to <em> that, </em>he was gone, leaving her reeling, unbalanced.</p><p>There was only one thought running through her mind when she stepped out of the class.</p><p>She was <em> fucked. </em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"Did Katara seem frazzled to you?"<br/>"Yeah, she wasn't paying attention to a word I said, just 'yeah, that's cool, sure.'<br/>"I don't even think she noticed when we stopped talking, Sokka."<br/>"Then she just hung up on with no word, Suki!"<br/>"I wonder what happened."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>“You know that’s not what I meant!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Are you sure?” she crossed her arms, her lips twisted into a scowl. “That’s exactly what it sounded like.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Katara, I came here to make peace with you. Why would you think I would say something like that?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh, so now this is my fault? Is that what you’re saying?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Would you stop doing that?” He gripped his hair. “Why do you always make yourself the victim?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Don’t patronize me!” She snapped.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You make it hard not to,” he snarled.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Staring up at her bedroom ceiling, she thought back to their last encounter. Katara had felt bad back then because he had come over just to make-up but it ended with a broken friendship and a gaping hole in her heart. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If she could, she would turn time back around to change the outcome of that day. She doesn't even know what caused the fallout and it lodged itself in her heart, in her throat, suffocating her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wondered if he ever thought about it. Would he bring it up now that they were talking again? Would he want to talk about what happened between them? Katara knew she wanted to but she was afraid. Terrified that one word about it would break it all apart again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or maybe he wanted to keep this profession, distance, just two classmates working on a project and nothing more. But he had called her the nickname she hasn’t heard in years and still had her number and it was messing with her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At first, she wanted to talk to her friends, tell them what happened, but she decided against it. It was bad enough before when they had to step in and she didn't want to put them through that again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She remembered vividly when Toph, another friend of theirs, stormed into her place, and told her explicitly just what this rift between them was doing to her and the others. And she felt bad but then all communications between her and Zuko stopped and she didn't have to worry about running into him again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wasn't ready to run into him then. She doesn't even think she was ready </span>
  <em>
    <span>now. </span>
  </em>
  <span>But prepared or not, he was her partner for a project and she would have to deal with that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nami, her cat of a year, jumped onto the bed and bumped her head against her leg, drawing a smile from her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Guess who I saw today, Nam?" Katara muttered, rubbing her pet’s side. "Zuko." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nami tilted her head and Katara threw her hands in the air. "Right? And I got paired up with him for a project."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sighing, she sat up. There wasn't any reason to complain yet and she had a project to start. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I need some tea," she groaned as she made her way to her kitchen. After setting the kettle on the stove, she grabbed her laptop and sat on the table as she waited for the water to boil. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Looking over the notes they wrote down, Katara was surprised to see there were more questions than answers. Every sentence had a question mark next to it and she decided the best approach to it all was to treat it like a research paper. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pouring herself a cup, she debated about calling him up. She wanted a direction to go in but they had all term so calling him now would be unnecessary. She could do it tomorrow or the next day. Or maybe never call him and they could just text over everything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Who was she kidding?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Working with him earlier sent her back to a time when things were easy, when things were </span>
  <em>
    <span>good </span>
  </em>
  <span>between them. She didn't realize how much she missed him until they were hunched over with their heads nearly touching, trading ideas.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Katara had her pride and she wasn't going to reach out to him first.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was stupid, she knew, but she was afraid of being hurt again. Of hurting</span>
  <em>
    <span> him </span>
  </em>
  <span>again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rubbing her forehead, she sat down with her cup of tea. If she wasn't going to reach out, then she should at least get an outline going. Something to keep her mind off of him</span>
  <span>–</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ringing of her phone cut through the silence of her apartment, nearly causing her to spill the hot drink.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cursing, she grabbed her phone, surprised when she saw who it was.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Zuko.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>With her heart in her throat, she answered the call and placed it on speaker. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"I found something on a missing Avatar and a war." </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Letting at a slow breath, Katara felt her shoulders relax. They were on safe grounds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Are they connected?" She asked as she pulled up their shared document. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Not sure. Everything is very vague here but it does say the Fire Nation started the war and then mentions a missing Avatar. Could be related." </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>It sounded too much of a coincidence. "Oh, speaking of which," she pulled up a website she found earlier. "Turns out, the Avatar goes through the element cycle. Water, then earth, then fire, then air." </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"I thought they controlled all of them." </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She shook her head. "No, what I meant was that if the Avatar came from, say, the Fire Nation, the next one would come from one of the Air Temples."</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Oh, that makes sense then."</span>
  </em>
  <span> There was some ruffling coming from his end before he started speaking again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"This page talked about how the missing Avatar came from the Air Nomads." </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"You keep saying missing." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was quiet for a second before he asked a confused </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘what?’ </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"Say the two are connected. The Fire Nation wanted to start a war and the Avatar, the balancer of peace, was going to be in the way-" </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"They would have killed them." </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded before realizing he couldn’t see her. "Exactly." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence blanketed over them, watching as he crossed out </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘missing’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>and wrote </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘dead’</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Opening up a new tab, she decided to search up the new terms. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"That makes sense, actually."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"What does?" </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"I found a page talking about an Air Nomad genocide. I think you're right." </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Furrowing her eyebrows, she went back to the file and clicked on the link he had shared. "How is that related to the Avatar? Or the war?"</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"It mentioned controlling air and a sudden attack from the Fire Nation."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She frowned. "So, the last known Avatar came from the Air Nomads, who were all murdered by the Fire Nation."</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"It's kind of jarring when saying all these names considering that’s what they’re called today.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“An interesting myth, indeed.” Snorting, she couldn’t have agreed more. Must be weirder for him considering he was from the mentioned nation. Would there be anything on the Water Tribes? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“After air is water, so,” she quickly typed a new search. “The next Avatar would be from the Water Tribes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Do you think they did the same thing to the Water Tribes?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Pausing in her typing, she pondered over the question. If the cycle was known to them, the Fire Nation would have attacked the Poles next- probably until the Avatar came from their nation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Quite possibly,” she started slowly, understanding what he meant by </span>
  <em>
    <span>jarring. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“The war went on for a hundred years. Have you found anything about the Earth Kingdom countries or the Tribes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Not yet. I have another thought, though.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I kept thinking about the word ‘missing’. Everything I found so far wasn’t shy about death. They explicitly say words like ‘murder’ and ‘killing’.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She heard movement and suddenly, he sounded much closer to the phone. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“What if the Avatar could be reincarnated?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Surprised, she snapped her head towards the phone. “Reincarnated?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It’s the only thing that makes sense to me.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She rubbed her chin, running the thought over in her mind. It was possible - people saying they went missing, waiting to be reborn again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wrote it down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Leaning back, Katara looked over the documents and then shook her head. They still had more questions than answers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Since it kept saying the war lasted a hundred years, let’s say it was because the Avatar was reborn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Either from the Water Tribes or from the</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he paused for a second. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“The Earth Kingdoms.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>A thought popped up and she snickered. “You know what would be poetic?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Huh?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“If the Avatar that came back and ended the war was from the Fire Nation themselves.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He snorted. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I would have paid to see that.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara couldn’t help but agree. Taking a sip of her tea, she pondered about the possibility. They would still have to do more digging to see if there was any more information on what ended the supposed war. And secretly, Katara wanted to know what role the Water Tribes had and more specifically, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Southern </span>
  </em>
  <span>Water Tribe. Did they fight against the Fire Nation? Did the Avatar come from them?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grimacing, she nearly smacked herself. This was a myth– there was no need to get attached to this project. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“How would the new Avatar learn air bending if all the Air Nomads were all gone?”</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I feel like every answer we find, there are thirty other questions.” She muttered, glaring at their shared document. Why couldn’t they have found just one page with everything they needed to know?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe she didn’t say that as quietly as she thought she did when Zuko suddenly barked out a laugh. Flushing, she huffed. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Didn’t think you were a quitter.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Gasping, she grabbed the phone and without much thought, immediately hit the video call button. It didn’t strike her as odd, didn’t even register until she was suddenly looking at the amused smile and the raised eyebrow of Zuko Hokom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>a quitter, Hokom.” She heard herself say.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He held his hand up in surrender, his smile widening. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“My bad. Remind me to never doubt you again.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She rolled her eyes, forcing the sudden fluttering in her stomach to remain quiet. What was she thinking, </span>
  <em>
    <span>videocalling</span>
  </em>
  <span> him? But she has now and the only way to go from here was </span>
  <em>
    <span>forward.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “And don’t you forget it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes, ma’am.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>There he was, saying those things he used to say before and she wasn’t sure what to do now. What was she supposed to do now? This wasn’t what she had in mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And when she caught sight of the time, she nearly let out a string of curses. She needed to get ready to go. Looking back at the man on the other side of the phone, she was surprised to find herself hesitant to end the call.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t like her to be this uncertain around him but she just wasn’t sure </span>
  <em>
    <span>what </span>
  </em>
  <span>they were now. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But he reached out first, </span>
  </em>
  <span>her thoughts betrayed her. This was an olive branch of his own and he shouldn’t have to do the next move.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She took in a steadying breath and squared her shoulders. “Are you free tomorrow?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The widening of his eyes let her know he was surprised by the question and she hastily tried to explain. “To, uh, work on the project.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Of course</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she heard him whisper and before she could call him out on that, to ask him just what exactly he meant by that, his smile turned soft, almost gentle. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“How does 3 sound?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She swallowed hard and kept her questions to herself. “Sure. Library?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Works for me. See you tomorrow, Katara.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Almost immediately, she missed the nickname. “Bye, Zuko.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a moment of hesitation, she pressed the ‘end call’ and stared at the device.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had no time to think about this new development between them when there was a knock at her door. Knowing it was Suki, Katara closed her laptop and stood up. She would have to freak out later, when she couldn’t be distracted from thinking about how much was going unsaid between them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were going to have to talk, Katara realized. And </span>
  <em>
    <span>soon,</span>
  </em>
  <span> if she had any plans on surviving this term in one piece.<br/>
</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"Have something on your mind?"<br/>"Don't I always?"<br/>"Okay, smartass. But something's bugging you. What is it?"<br/>"Honestly, I have no idea where to start. I'll come back to you in 3-5 business days."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>“Why can’t the two of you get your shits together?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Toph-”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“No! I’m sick and tired of it! Of you two hurting each other.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She flinched. “Well-”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Do you understand the stress you put us all in? We don’t want to pick between the two of you so please, for our sanity, stop fucking fighting.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t keep still.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All morning, she was bustling around; cleaning her place, doing other assignments, and even cleaned out Nami’s litter. The prospect of seeing Zuko was making her jittery.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was frustrating her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get a hold of yourself, woman,” fingers grip her hair as she leaned back on the couch. She was never this nervous around him before and the fact that she couldn’t relax was grating on her nerves. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She understood where the hesitation was coming from; they weren’t on the best of terms when they last saw each other. It doesn’t mean it was any less irritating.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The uncertainty was also making her hesitate to do anything. To even approach the topic of their history with him. If only so they could try to move forward with a clean slate. And if that wasn’t the case, she wanted to know what his boundaries were so she wouldn’t push him into an uncomfortable situation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite it all, Katara had come to a conclusion; she wanted to try the whole friendship thing with Zuko again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It surprised her. She would have thought she wanted nothing to do with him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tui, </span>
  </em>
  <span>if asked just last week, she would have scoffed at the mere idea. Now, </span>
  <em>
    <span>now,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she knew that wasn’t true. After talking to him, Katara knew she didn't want to remain as just strangers. Until they were able to put a label on what they were, it would bug Katara.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the idea of asking, of putting herself in that vulnerable position, was making her nervous. She never did very well with rejection and if he did such towards her, Katara </span>
  <em>
    <span>would</span>
  </em>
  <span> accept it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She would die just a little inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>How could she even face him afterwards? She'd rather drink cactus juice than ever put herself in that type of situation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Nami, I'm going insane," she muttered when her cat brushed against her legs. "I'm probably just overthinking, right?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cat simply tilted her head and Katara groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was going to go smoothly, she decided, standing up from her seat. Her thoughts trailed back to their last conversation and more specifically, the way he smiled at her. If he didn't want anything to do with her, he wouldn't have smiled like that, right? </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It was a damn nice smile, too.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She needed help.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sighing, she grabbed her jacket and bag. Slipping on her shoes, she stepped out of the apartment. There was no point in worrying about the potential outcomes of this encounter. They already agreed to meet up and if she didn't hurry, she would be late. That wouldn't paint a pretty image and with that in mind, she hurried over to the school library. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grimacing, she wondered if anyone else she knew was going to be there. It wouldn't do her any good if Suki, or her brother, or even Toph found out before Katara could talk to them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She doesn't know when she decided against telling them. Katara hardly hides stuff from her friends but for reasons unknown to her, she didn't want to share this. Maybe it was because she wanted to see where it would go, if Zuko and her really, truly, be friends.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And if it doesn't work out, if her partner would just like to remain as a classmate, then there was no reason to tell her friends about him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though, Toph and Suki would be upset. Katara was more inclined to keep this hidden.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pushing open the door, she glanced at her phone when she heard it ping.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Zuko: 2nd floor</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Zuko: by the big sculpture</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He always managed to arrive before her and she was transported back to a memory of him smiling up at her from his spot, arriving at the cafe before her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shaking the thoughts from her mind, Katara surveyed the area before it landed on him, sitting in a space just tucked around the corner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was their little spot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, the breath was lodged in her throat, unsteady while she made her way towards him. Too much of this was familiar. Too much of this was bringing thoughts back and, and-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>feelings.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Things she thought were long gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then he saw her and she had to act as if she wasn't struggling. He could probably see right through her like he used to but she had to try. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He kept his gaze on her until she was in front of him and then she stopped. Lock in a gaze, she held her breath. It was only when he leaned back with that stupid smirk on his lips was she able to finally breathe. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>So much for acting normal.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey, Zuko," she muttered, placing her things on the table as she sat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Kat," he responded and damn him for making her heart flip. "I got you something."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Snapping her head in his direction, she looked at him with wide eyes. "What?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Nothing special, promise." He raised an eyebrow before pointing to the cup that was by her bag.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Furrowing her eyebrows, she picked it up and then it hit her. He got her a </span>
  <em>
    <span>drink. </span>
  </em>
  <span>And from the smell of it, he got her favorite one. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He remembered?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>It was safe to say Katara was distracted the whole time they worked on the project.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sure, she heard and understood everything they were talking about, but she couldn't quite keep her focus there. She couldn't shake the thoughts of '</span>
  <em>
    <span>he remembered' </span>
  </em>
  <span>and what it meant. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Turns out, some very powerful firebenders could also make lightning."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Uh-huh," she agreed absent-mindedly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Also, waterbenders could bend blood."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Katara."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the call of her name, she looked up from her laptop, grimacing when she realized she was caught.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're distracted." It wasn't a question; he </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>But she wasn't going to give in that easily. "No, I'm not."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Katara." Did her name always sound nice when he said it?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slumping her shoulder, she gave in. "Maybe just a little."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A soft laugh spilled from his lips as he closed his laptop. "What's on your mind?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Where would she even start? "It's nothing."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know it's not nothing."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A flash of irritation flared from the way he said that, as if he </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> her. And maybe a couple of years ago, she would agree but not now. Even though he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>right, </span>
  </em>
  <span>it still didn't sit right with her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You know nothing," she snapped, harsher than she meant to. Immediately, regret flooded through her and she bit her tongue. She blamed it on the uncertainty between them, the jumbled mess of her mind, the shock of running into him after all this time. The fact that he was able to see right through her </span>
  <em>
    <span>still. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Normally, that was enough for them to dissolve into one of their arguments and Katara was dreading it. How would she bring up the topic of her concern now? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But instead of retorting, Zuko shut down. The soft tilt of his lips disappeared, his eyes hardened and it wasn't the playful Zuko she knew in front of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead of talking back, like she was expecting, </span>
  <em>
    <span>like he usually does</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he opened his laptop and turned his attention to it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This Zuko, this silent, emotionless Zuko, wasn't familiar. And she felt guilty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Closing her eyes, she let out a slow breath. This wasn't how she wanted today to go and it wasn't like he said anything wrong.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her eyes now open, she winged her fingers, taking another moment before speaking up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry, Zuko. I didn't mean to snap at you." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're right, though." He locked gaze with her briefly before turning back to his laptop. "I don't know anything." </span>
  <em>
    <span>About you.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn't know how to navigate this territory.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shifting in her seat, Katara glanced around before shaking her head. "No, seriously. I'm sorry. It's just…" trailing off, she didn't know how to properly put everything in words. And then he was looking up, watching her in equal parts curiosity and wariness and she couldn’t hold back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What are we?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The question laid around them, covering them with the heaviness of it. The fear gripping her throat made it come out much softer than she was hoping for. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn't look surprised by it, nodding as if he was expecting it. Did he think about it as often as she did?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What do you want us to be?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His gaze on her was steady and the warmth from earlier was slowly creeping in and maybe, he wanted to be friends too. But she needed to say something, needed to </span>
  <em>
    <span>tell </span>
  </em>
  <span>him that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She offered him a bit of her heart. "Friends."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And there was that smile again, the one he used to give her, used to </span>
  <em>
    <span>only </span>
  </em>
  <span>give her; an offer in return. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Should we shake on it or something now? An initiation ritual?" The smirk was back and she couldn't help the sudden laugh that spilled from her.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Spirits, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she missed this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I think it's getting a twin tattoo these days." She mused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't make a promise you can't keep." He wiggled a finger at her. "Can't leave me hanging in the parlor by myself."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gasping, she widened her eyes in mock indignation. "I would never. Besides, why would I miss the opportunity to see you cry?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He snorted before rolling his eyes. "Sorry to burst your bubble, princess, but you're going to have to pick something else then."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That caught her attention. "You have a tattoo?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Back when they met, he always talked about getting one. Even entertained the idea of getting one together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yup. Got one last year." He looked pleased with himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Back of the palm on her forehead, she sighed loudly. "I guess I'll have to take one for the team." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It got a snicker out of him. "Cute." He then tapped his stylus on her tablet. "What'd you get?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Honestly," she grimaced as she skimmed over her notes. "Not much. But I did get some information on the Water Tribes. Turns out the reason why there wasn't much information on the Northern Tribe is because they managed to stay out of the war."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Huh," he raised an eyebrow before leaning back. "They were completely out of it?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"There was a brief thing about an attack but that was it. And," she frowned, dread settling in her lower stomach before she had to remind herself that this was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>myth. </span>
  </em>
  <span>A very detailed one but a myth nonetheless. "The Southern Water Tribe weren't as lucky."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What do you mean?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"After the Air Nomads, the Fire Nation set its eyes on the South Pole. Nearly decimated them as well."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Agni,</span>
  </em>
  <span>" he muttered and she looked over, wondering what he was thinking about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Just… this whole thing. I feel like we're doing a project on a legitimate historical event." </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh. </span>
  </em>
  <span>So she wasn't the only one who felt this way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"None of the information we find is on the same page or article," she added. "Even the information on the Water Tribes, I spent a good thirty minutes combing through everything before finding a lead." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I wonder if that's why people don't do this topic." He shook his head. "Spirits, we end up with more questions than answers every single time."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah," she agreed. "We better get an A on this."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We might finally lead the revolt we used to talk about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She huffed a laugh, remembering the rants they used to go on. “Don’t tempt me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His smile was filled with mischief and damn him for looking good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And look good, he did. At first, she didn’t want to admit it but this Zuko was a bit different. He was no longer the lean muscle, lanky kid she met years ago with the broody air around him. The sweater he was wearing did little to hide the defined muscles in his arms and whenever he leaned back against the chair, it stretched over his chest just nicely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He also grew out his hair - she noticed his go-to hairstyle was up in a topknot now, something he was strongly against before. And spirits, she needed to look away before he caught her staring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s make a list of things we know and write out the other questions we have.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That jerked her out of her thoughts and he wasn’t watching her but the tilt of his lips let her know she was caught. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tui and La, save me.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good idea,” muttering, she tilted her head, her hair creating a curtain around her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next few moments went by quietly, each working on the same document and by the time they finished, Katara realized how right they were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then one of the images Zuko posted caught her attention.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I know this.” Narrowing her eyes, she zoomed in closer. “I definitely have seen this somewhere.” Turning her laptop around, she pointed to it. “This symbol.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you remember where?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shook her head, her frown deepening. “I don’t know but…” She flipped the device back and let her eyes roam over the screen for a moment. Maybe if she zoomed out and looked over the entire image once again then…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” Gasping, she quickly took out her phone and after a quick search, she showed it to him. “I recognized some of the writing - it was in one of the old temples here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taking her phone, he scrolled through it as he spoke. “In Ba Sing Se?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hummed. “In the North Saong Temple.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He handed the phone back but Katara could have sworn his touch lingered over her hand before he pulled away. “You think we might find some information there?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shaking herself out of her sudden stupor, she nodded. “Yeah, probably. I haven’t visited the other temples but they might also have some similar things.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds like a good idea to me. But,” his smirk turned into a sheepish smile. “I won’t be able to go today. Promised Aang I would hang out with him today.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It shouldn’t have surprised her that he still kept contact with the others. And with the way Katara refused to ever bring up his name, it wasn’t a shock that their friends ever mentioned him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay,” she shrugged. “I have to catch up on other classes, anyways. How does Saturday sound?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Asking me out? Aw,” he placed his elbow on the table, chin on his palm, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>that stupid smile. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Is dinner included?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The air threatened to choke her but she forced herself to breathe. Throwing her hair over her shoulder, she returned his grin. “As long as you don’t forget the flowers and your car.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His smile was all teeth. “It’s a date.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"Toph, do you think we should tell them we talk to each of them?"<br/>"Why? So they could start fighting again?"<br/>"They had the weirdest relationship. One minute, they're acting like best friends and in the next, we have to stand in between them before they could jump at each other."<br/>"They had the thickest sexual tension I've ever had the displeasure of witnessing, Suki."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>“What about two dragons intertwined to create a moon?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Come on, my ideas are never bad.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Kat, do you not remember what we did just yesterday? I have bruises on my legs now.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“...okay, so my ideas are never bad ninety percent of the time.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They texted each other all week.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sometimes, it was lengthy, lasting all day. Other times it was a short sentence, a handful of words, a picture.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was the one who started it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The day after their meet up at the library, she found herself staring at her phone. She was waiting for something and it hit her just as she picked up her phone for the tenth time that day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She felt slightly embarrassed when it dawned on her that she wanted him to text her. Of course, if she wanted to talk, she could have reached out. Maybe even use the excuse of the project as the reason for contacting him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as she had gathered the courage to do so, her phone had dinged, startling her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was Zuko and he didn't bring up the project.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She felt herself relax to the idea of Zuko being back in her life. It was still nerve-wracking, a little uncertain at times, and Katara knew this would happen. She knew they wouldn’t be able to easily fall into steps again, not after their history and the time spent apart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was actually better than she was hoping.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before, they easily fell into the rhythm of friends, of </span>
  <em>
    <span>close </span>
  </em>
  <span>friends. But they often said things without thinking, nitpicked at each other’s words, and had some of the worst communication within their friend group.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, there seemed to be a sense of understanding that wasn’t there before. And Katara, as hard as it was for her, she promised to be truthful of her feelings, to speak through their differences instead of spitting biting words to each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was a shitty friend before, she wasn’t denying that. But now, with this second chance planted in her lap, she wanted to be a good friend. A friend Zuko could rely on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hoped it was mutual.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And when he came by to pick her up with her favorite coffee waiting for her, she liked to think it was. It was definitely something she would bring up, but for now, their trip to the temple awaited them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When did you visit this temple?” Zuko asked as he pulled out of her apartment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Last year. I don’t remember why I went but,” she fished for her phone, scrolling through it until she landed on a photo. “I took a photo of some of the things because it fascinated me.” She waited until he stopped at a light before sharing them. “See? This was the symbol I was talking about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked over it carefully, nodding as he turned his attention back to the traffic. “What do you think we’ll find there?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara shrugged, looking over the photos once again. “I’m not sure. But I did look up the history of that temple and the others. It’s just as old as this city.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but some say it was here longer than that. Despite how popular these temples are, there aren’t very many details on who created them."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hummed, his fingers tapping on the wheel. "Why don't we visit the Bao Ya Temple afterward? It's not far from the Saong Temple and we can get food on our way there."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spirits, it's as if he could read her thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes, please." She groaned, leaning back against the chair. "I've been so stressed with Organic Chemistry that I didn't get time to eat."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Didn't you wake up at the ungodly hour of eight?" He snorted but Katara swore it should be a crime to be up at that time. Who thought making a chemistry class at nine should be charged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If I could, I would ban making classes that early. It's torture."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughed but little did he know she was serious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He also had a nice laugh but Katara tried not to think about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Did you find anything?" She asked, wanting to clear her mind from her previous thoughts. Also because they have spoken very little about the project since the last time she saw him. She would update the doc and see whenever he also added new information but other than that, nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Out of curiosity, I wanted to see if any other temple or place in the other nations had similar symbols since the Avatar could control all four elements. And guess what?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eyebrows raised, she twisted around to face him. "You found some?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pulling into a parking space just outside the temple, he then whipped out his tablet, explaining his findings as he flipped through them. "A few, really. In the library of the Northern Water Tribe University, a museum in the Fire Nation, one in the-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That's one's at the Southern Water Tribe capital building." Katara pointed out, having recognized it from the couple of times she visited. "In fact, it looks very similar to our family crest," she added, surprised she didn't make the connection before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When her companion remained quiet, she looked over at him, only to blink when she caught the strange way he was watching her. "What?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Nothing," he said hesitantly and before Katara could push for more, he started speaking again. "It's just, well, the one in the Caldera Museum is very similar to my family crest as well."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What were the odds? The crest has been in her family for generations passed on by her mother's family. It wasn't common among people nowadays to have one but it was important for their family. She was told it came from some of the first settlers and she had worn it with pride.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To know it could be connected to this myth or to other family crests around the world, was confusing her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Your family is part of your council back home, right?" He asked, finally breaking eye contact to unbuckle his seat belt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mirroring his movements, Katara then grabbed her bag and followed him towards the front doors of the temple. "Yeah," she answered, wondering where Zuko was going with this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"My father used to be the president of the Fire Nation almost a decade ago." She nearly winced, remembering when he first spoke to her about him. But he moved on, bringing up his next point. "He swore we had blood from royalty tracing back generations."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The dots were starting to connect and she could see where he was going. "You think it might be connected to the leaders of each place."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Probably. But then again," a frown danced across his lips. "This is a myth so there might not be any connection."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A pretty intricate one." She had to admit. But now, she was wondering if maybe there was some truth to it. Not the bending, but maybe there was some truth in the other things. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What if it's not completely a myth?" She mused, opening the door for them. "What if it might be based on some truth?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You think controlling elements is real?" He raised his lone eyebrow, amusement twinkling in his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Not that part," she rolled her eyes, gently smacking his arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was that nice laugh again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They spent at least an hour in the temple, going through all the articles and writing on the wall. It was more of an open museum now and took their time combing through the place until they found the symbol she mentioned earlier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, that definitely looks like the others."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko tilted his head slightly as he studied the carving. "Do you know if someone who runs the place would have more information on it?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Information on what?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The new voice startled them, having been so engrossed in their searching that they didn't hear them approaching.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was an old gentleman, one that reminded her of Pakku, her grandmother's husband. His smile was friendly, open, and Katara shook out of her momentary stupor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"This symbol here," Katara pointed to it, hoping the man might have some knowledge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And to her continued shock, he nodded. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the Avatar?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Glancing at Zuko, she was surprised to hear someone else bring it up. He shrugged slightly, so minute that if she wasn't watching him closely, she wouldn't have seen it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The Avatar, bringer of peace, master of all elements," her partner spoke up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man smiled. "Ah, I've seen you done your research. Not many know about them. This symbol here is the mark of earthbending."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They knew it was connected to their topic of myth but she didn't know just how much it would be. If this was to indicate earthbending then did it mean the others were respective to the bending style found there?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara was starting to believe that her earlier thoughts were not entirely wrong. How else was it possible that all four corners of the world somehow had links to this one myth?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But now that she took a closer look at the marking, there was another reason why it called out to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Toph’s family necklace has a similar thing." She huffed in disbelief before facing Zuko. "She used to wear it all the time."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as recognition blanketed his face, the stranger spoke</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ah, the Bei Fong girl."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph mentioned before that her family was well known in the major cities in this country but the way he said her name, as if not phased by the information, put her on edge. Then his next words nearly caused her knees to buckle from under her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"As the daughter of Chief Councilman Hakoda and the son of the previous president of the Fire Nation, I suspect you have similar ones too."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No one usually recognized her, especially in the city of Ba Sing Se. Even when she mentioned her last name, only a few realized her connection, unless they were from the Water Tribes themselves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To have someone she didn't know name her father, startling wasn't a strong enough word. And this man knew about her family’s crest, something she only recently realized was similar to these other symbols.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unable to comprehend the man's words, she looked over Zuko, hoping he would be able to make better sense of it all. But his wide eyes, the drop of his jaw as he locked gaze with her, told her he was just as shocked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Who are you?" Finding her voice finally, she whipped around, wanting to interrogate him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as quietly as he appeared, he left, taking all the questions she had off the top of her lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Looking around, she hoped to catch a glimpse of him, to drag him back to answer their question. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What the fuck."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara couldn't have said better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Where did he go?" Zuko managed to compose himself and started scanning around the room as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara let out a frustrated noise. "How do we manage to come up with even more questions?" She groaned, giving up her search. "And what did he mean that because of our family statuses, we would have similar family symbols?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How did he even know who we were?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Snorting, Katara grabbed his arm, ready to leave the temple. “We’re not exactly nobodies.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He seemed to abandon looking for the man but the furrow of his brow remained. He didn’t even bat an eye at her touch and instead, bent down to grab the bookbag she dropped earlier. “I forget about that sometimes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She agreed. It always felt weird when someone asked if she was related to the councilman that was her father, even though it was a rare occurrence. But Zuko, on the other hand, was able to only recently enjoy such a feat. Before, not a day went by without someone asking if his father was the previous president of the Fire Nation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wasn’t sure about now but from their trip to the library and here, she thinks not many people ask anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All this thinking is making me hungry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tugging him out of the building, she wanted to file this encounter as unimportant but the man’s words were still ringing in her head. Nibbling on her bottom lip, she decided to share her thoughts with Zuko.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if what I said earlier wasn’t completely crazy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was afraid he would look at her as if she lost her mind but instead, he glanced at her with a thoughtful look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you’re right.” He finally muttered as they got into the car. “I’m not sure about bending though - if it was still a thing, wouldn’t we know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had a point. “Yeah. But the war, the balancer of peace, it is possible that it could be real.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Humming, he started the car and pulled out. “The symbol in the Northern Water Tribe library is slightly different from the one in your city council.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grimacing, Katara then shrugged. “You see how isolated they are from the world, right? It’s only slightly easier for people from my home to visit them but to everyone else, it’s hard. They don’t like outsiders but above all, they don’t like those of the Southern Water Tribe council.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She never understood it when she was younger. They came from the same ancestry, spoke the same language and even prayed to the same spirits. As she grew up, she realized why the North didn’t like the South very much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They think we’ve lost our ways and are still sour from the battle they lost over a century ago to have control over the Southern Water Tribe.” She added with a roll of her eyes. It always irritated her whenever she thought of the reasons why the North didn’t like them very much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think they’ve always been that isolated from everyone?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well,” she pulled out her phone, scrolling through it until she found their shared document. “They did have little to do with the war simply due to isolating themselves. Could be possible.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You down for some Fire Nation cuisine?” He asked, glancing over at her when they came to a stop. “Do you think they probably had different bending styles?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, as long as we go for a sweet Water Tribe smoothie afterward. And it is possible.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They fell into silence and Katara took this moment to go over the other symbols Zuko found. It felt weird to her, taking all this more seriously than she first expected. She found herself invested in finding more on the Avatar, on the hundred-year war, on the bending styles and if it really did connect to the ruling families of the world.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So if most of this stuff is real, do you think we have a direct link to it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko groaned. “We were supposed to get answers, not more questions.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can blame that guy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe he was just messing with us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But even as he said it, Katara knew he didn’t believe that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just what exactly did they stumble upon?</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"I think they had a crush on each other."<br/>"Katara always said he was just a friend."<br/>"Suki, did you really believe her?"<br/>"Nope. Not even when Zuko denied it as well, love."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> "How could you possibly be mad? You told me that-" She huffed when he cut her off. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "Why didn't you ask? I would have told you!" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "You literally said it didn't matter!"  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "Do you only listen to half the things I say?" There was defeat surrounding the clear anger of his voice. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "Guys, please, let's just take a deep breath and-" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> She shot up. "No! I've had enough!"  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> °°° </em>
</p><p>Their trip to both temples left them more confused than they were at the beginning. It didn't help that the strange man's words kept coming back to her.</p><p>After Bao Ya temple, the plan — originally — was to drop her off at her place and pick the project back up in class the next day. But now, with only so few answers, Katara decided to work on it some more.</p><p>"I will not be able to sleep until I figure more things out." She sighed after taking a sip of her smoothie. "What are we supposed to show the instructor tomorrow?"</p><p>"Oh," Zuko grimaced. "I forgot we're supposed to check in tomorrow."</p><p>Katara doesn't blame him — she forgot about it herself until a reminder of it on her phone popped up.</p><p>"I mean, we aren't completely empty-handed." Pulling out her phone, she started scrolling through the list of things they have so far. "We know the Avatar was the master of all four elements. Then they vanished when the Fire Nation started attacking."</p><p>"The war lasted a hundred years. An Air Nomad genocide." He added.</p><p>Katara hummed, hey brows furrowing when she got to the bottom of the very shortlist. "The North mostly kept out of it while the South was nearly destroyed."</p><p>Then she paused. Because everything else was speculation or had a question mark next to it.</p><p>"It's only the first week— she wouldn't expect us to have a lot, right?" He sounded hopeful.</p><p>Silence fell upon them and Katara did take that into consideration but—</p><p>"Nah. I won't be able to think about anything else today." Zuko broke the quietness and she let out a sigh she didn't remember she was holding in the first place. At least she knew he was just as intrigued about the whole thing as she was.</p><p>Katara sighed and lowered her phone. "We could tell her about our theories?" She said after a moment.</p><p>Zuko hummed, tapping on his steering wheel as he took a turn. "We don't have much on that either.</p><p>Slumping in her seat, Katara knew he was right. Sure, they had some things, could possibly even make conclusions based off of them, but it still left too many holes to fill. Now, with the possibility of their family heirlooms being thrown in the mix, she wouldn't feel satisfied until they had more information.</p><p>“If you want to come over to work on it, I still have that big dry-erase board."</p><p>And because she was too focused on the fact that they didn't have much, she didn't think much of it when she agreed. "Big board. Sounds great," she muttered, her eyes narrowed as she tried to think of more connections. And a board to lay everything out sounded too tempting to pass up.</p><p>Even as he drove to his unit and parked his car, it still didn't fully register.</p><p>"We still don't know how the war ended." She said, slipping out of the car when he parked. "Since it's called the 'hundred-years war' we know it ended. Does that mean the Fire Nation won?"</p><p>Zuko shook his head as he led them towards his place. "I don't think so. We agreed to think of the war as an actual event and if the Fire Nation won, I'm sure the world would have looked much different today."</p><p>He had a point. Besides, there were still people from the Air countries and her tribe wasn't nearly extinct. They were just as prolific as the Fire Nation or the Earth countries.</p><p>"Okay," she slipped off her shoes as she stepped into the room, still not completely aware that she was walking into Zuko's apartment. "They lost, then. That means those fighting against them won. We have to figure out who they are."</p><p>"I think the Avatar came back." He pointed out and Katara watched as he set his bag aside. "I found a small snippet talking about the Avatar in regards to the end of the fight."</p><p>"Okay, let's say that the Avatar did come back—" she followed him as he stepped into the kitchen. "They still couldn't have taken down a whole nation by themselves. There had to have already been people fighting against the Fire Nation."</p><p>"Rebels."</p><p>She nodded vigorously, plopping herself down on the couch as she watched Zuko drag over the board he mentioned earlier. "Exactly!"</p><p>Without turning, he threw her a marker. "So, let's get started, shall we?"</p><p>-</p><p>It was Katara who found it first.</p><p>"Ha!" She shot up from her spot on the floor, raising her tablet above her head. "I got it!"</p><p>Spinning around, she winced when she caught the startled expression on Zuko's face. But then she remembered why she yelled in the first place and quickly moved over to him. </p><p>"So, we talked about a rebel against the Fire Nation, right? I found something on it." Taking a deep breath, she began to read.</p><p><em> "'Although their fleet was small compared to the Fire Nation’s army, the Southern Water Tribe Warriors left the shore of the South Pole to lead a rebellion against the Fire Lord.'" </em>She paused, taking in the information again now that she said it out loud. Something like pride struck through her and she continued to read as Zuko scooted to look over her shoulder. </p><p>She forced herself not to think too hard about how close he was. "<em> 'Their first coordinated attack was on the Day of the Black Sun with Earth Kingdom citizens and the people of the Swamp. Alongside with the long-lost Avatar, they struck but were unsuccessful."' </em></p><p>"So that answers two questions," Zuko muttered after she stopped and he got up. "The Avatar <em> did </em>come back and now we know who headed the fighting efforts."</p><p>Katara nodded. She was sad that the attack didn't go the rebels' way but she also knew their numbers were small. At least the Avatar returned.</p><p>Stretching, she yawned as she watched watch Zuko update the board with their newly acquired information. "I think we have enough for now."</p><p>"Yeah," he tapped the marker on his chin. "For now."</p><p>Yawning again, she leaned against the couch and felt heaviness wash over her eyes. Looking out the window, she grimaced when she caught how dark it got. "What time is it?"</p><p>Zuko blinked at her, as if he himself, was just realizing how late it became. "Time?" patting around his pants, he pulled out his phone, eyes widening. "Shit, we've been doing this for that long?"</p><p>"What?" Lifting her head, she narrowed her tired eyes. </p><p>He groaned. "It's almost midnight."</p><p>Snorting, Katara laid her head back on the couch. "Looks like it's passed someone's bedtime."</p><p>"You don't understand," he shook his head, his shoulders dropping. "Even if I sleep later, I'm still up at the crack of dawn."</p><p>"Unbelievable." She muttered, yawning as she curled herself against the couch, her eyes falling close. "Absolutely despicable." </p><p>"Katara."</p><p>Without lifting her head, she hummed. </p><p>"Do you want me to take you home?"</p><p>Later, when she remembers what happened, she'll blame her sleepiness. But for now, she shook her head and rested it on her arm. </p><p>"No. I'm perfectly—" a yawn. "content right here."</p><p>An amused noise came from him but Katara was too tired to comment on it.</p><p>"Do you want to at least sleep on a bed? I have a spare room."</p><p>"Bed?" She perked up, her eyes squinting up at him. "You have a bed?"</p><p>He laughed and Katara scowled. Why was he laughing at her? He was the one who said—</p><p>"Yeah, a spare bed for you." He walked past her, pausing to pat her head. Grumbling, Katara just let him.  "Let me set it up real quick."</p><p>She waved him away, letting herself rest her eyes and then he was back, gently shaking her.</p><p>"Come on, kit-kat. You're gonna hurt your back if you sleep here."</p><p>But she didn't<em> want </em>to get up, not anymore. Even with the thought of a bed, she couldn't find the energy to stand.</p><p>"Quit shaking me," she groaned, trying to shuffle away from him.</p><p>"Fine," she began to relax. <em> Finally- </em>"I'm going to pick you up." And before she could even register what he had said, the ground was no longer underneath her.</p><p>Huffing, she crossed her arms, all while keeping her eyes closed. "Rude," she mumbled, burying herself into his chest. And she wasn't mad, not really, and especially after it hit her just how warm he was.</p><p><em> A walking furnace, </em> she thought as he set her down in the bed. <em> A really good-looking walking furnace. </em></p><p>The filters in her mind are nonexistent at this point.</p><p>"Wait," she called out as he stepped away after pulling the cover over her. "I'm wearing my clothes from all day."</p><p>With one hand outstretched towards the doorknob, he raised an eyebrow at her words. </p><p>But Katara wasn't paying attention.</p><p>"Do you have a sweater or shirt I can wear?"</p><p>And there goes the filter on her mouth.</p><p>Instead of questioning her, Zuko simply nodded and left the room. Laying back against the covers, she closed her eyes again because it was just <em> too soft </em>and how could she not?</p><p>Just as she was feeling the talons of sleep draw her under, he came back with the clothing and placed it on the bed.</p><p>"Is there anything else you need?"</p><p>She grabbed the sweater and let out another yawn. "No, I don't think so."</p><p>He snorted before heading out of the room. "Goodnight then, Kat." </p><p>Mumbling what she thought was the proper response, he then closed the door. She at least had half the mind to wait until he left to wiggling out of her shirt and bra. Slipping on the sweater, she tugged the blanket over her. Just as she was drifting off, she caught a whiff of the sweater. </p><p>"Smells like him," was the last thing on her mind as slumber finally overtook her.</p><p>-</p><p>It wasn't until Zuko came into the room and started shaking her did it really register.</p><p>That she came over. To Zuko’s place.</p><p>Katara was sitting up on the bed and stared blankly at the wall.</p><p>She remembered snippets of her dream and to her horror, Zuko was in it. And she must be going insane because her subconscious decides to imagine them as more than friends.</p><p>It was startling when the first face she saw the moment she opened her eyes happened to be <em> him. </em> She thought she was still dreaming until she saw the way he was smirking.</p><p>And then she dumbly said <em> 'Why are you in my house?' </em> Of course, that was when Zuko took the liberty to tell her that, in fact, she was at <em> his </em>house.</p><p>When he was satisfied she wouldn't fall back asleep, he told her the time.</p><p>Which led to her current dilemma: in Zuko’s apartment, in his spare room, with his <em> sweater. </em></p><p>A sweater that smelled of him.</p><p>That specific cologne she always associated with him.</p><p>And they have class soon. So soon and partially, she knew it was her fault. Zuko was probably already ready and just waiting for her but she didn't know how to move from <em> this. </em>They'd be late for class if they stopped by her apartment before heading out.</p><p>A knock came from the door, causing Katara to jump slightly.</p><p>"I left a new toothbrush in the bathroom for you."</p><p><em> That </em>was a great place to start. Sighing, she got off the bed and looked down at herself.</p><p>She was still wearing her pants from yesterday. Grimacing, she went looking for her shirt. Maybe it would be fine.</p><p>Once she located it, she lifted it to her nose and sniffed it.</p><p>Yeah, that wasn't going to work. It smelled like the takeout they had for dinner and if there's one thing Katara hated, it was smelling like food.</p><p>Shoulders dropped in defeat, she made her way to the door and opened it just a bit. Looking out, when she was sure Zuko wouldn't see her, she dashed towards the bathroom, locking it right behind her.</p><p>"Okay, breathe." She muttered, wincing when she caught sight of herself in the mirror. "It's no big deal that I spent the night here. We're friends." She straightened up, her eyes still on her reflection as she nodded. "Friends go over to each other's places all the time."</p><p>
  <em> You're in his sweater. </em>
</p><p>A pause.</p><p>"I'm going insane," her fingers slid into her hair, gripping it for a moment before releasing. "So stupid."</p><p>Sighing, Katara grabbed the toothbrush he brought out for her. What's done is done, there wasn't much she could do now. But since they can't stop by her place and she doesn't want to wear her shirt again, it left her with only one choice.</p><p>If her cat didn't have an automatic food dispenser, she would have booked it over there the moment she realized this wasn't her home.</p><p>Once she finished brushing her teeth and washing her face, Katara stepped back into the spare bedroom. Slipping her bra on, she set out to look for him and nearly rolled her eyes when she found him sitting at the table, a mug in his hand.</p><p>If morning could be manifested into a person, it would be Zuko.</p><p>"I thought I would have to drag you out of bed." Was his morning greeting and this time, Katara didn't hesitate to roll her eyes.</p><p>"Whatever. Wait," narrowing her eyes, she looked over at the kitchen when she caught a certain smell. "You made coffee?" Whirling back to him, she raised an eyebrow. "Since when were you a coffee drinker? I thought you hated that stuff."</p><p>To her surprise, he averted his gaze from her and she could have sworn his cheeks turned into the lightest shade of pink. She blinked and then continued to watch him, fascinated by the change. Right as she was about to ask what caused it, he beat her to it.</p><p>"I don't drink coffee," he started mumbling, his eyes still away from her. "-went to the store earlier and got some."</p><p>That explained why there was coffee in his place now but if he doesn't drink it then-</p><p>Oh<em>. </em></p><p>If he didn't get it for himself then that meant-</p><p>
  <em> Oh. </em>
</p><p>A smile tugging on her lips, she walked over to the pot and poured herself some with the mug that was already out. She forgot how sweet Zuko could be. Back when they first became friends, it was something she found a bit suspicious because who could be that thoughtful? But then she got to know how much of a sweet-hearted <em> dork </em>he could be. Looking at the coffee maker, she realized it's the one she brought over all those moons ago. For when she found herself at his place staying up late studying. Did he really keep it all this time? </p><p>Bringing the cup up to her lips, she took a sip and hummed. It was just what she needed to kickstart this already weird morning. </p><p>As she was turning around to join him at the table, her eyes caught the time on the microwave and scrunched her nose. They were going to have to leave soon.</p><p>Which left her to ask that one question to ask.</p><p>Sitting down in front of him, she took a few more sips, letting it wake her up further. She was halfway done with the coffee when she felt ready enough to ask.</p><p>"Zuko."</p><p>He looked up from his tablet.</p><p>"So…" she cleared her throat when he set the device down. "I don't want to wear my shirt - it smells like the food we had last night."</p><p>It caught him off guard and he leaned back against the chair. "Do you want me to take you home?" </p><p>Katara shook her head. "No, we don't have time. I was actually going to ask if," glancing away, she licked her suddenly dry lips and the rest of her words tumbling out of her mouth in a rush. "If I could wear this sweater?"</p><p>When he didn't speak up right away, she took the chance to peak at him and immediately regretted it.</p><p>
  <em> La, save me now. </em>
</p><p>He crossed his arm and leaned back against the chair, a cheeky smirk pulling at his lips. And Katara just knew she wasn't going to like what he was going to say the moment he opened his mouth.</p><p>"You want to borrow my sweater." He wasn’t asking for clarification, something made obvious when he rested his elbow on the table, chin on his palm. "Sure thing, kit-kat."</p><p>Did he have to be insufferable? Huffing, she threw a napkin at him, getting up when he started laughing. Taking the cup to the sink to wash it, she scowled. <em> Of all things to happen today. </em> "I have been cursed."</p><p>Shaking her head at his continued laughter, she grabbed her bag from the living room and stalked back into her temporary room.</p><p>
  <em> He has a nice laugh, though. </em>
</p><p>Why did her mind have to betray her so ruthlessly? Sure, it was a nice sound, warm in all the right ways, but he was laughing at <em> her. </em> She should show <em> some </em>dignity at the very least.</p><p>It didn't stop her from smiling as she packed her clothes away.</p><p>"I'm ready to go."</p><p>Heading towards the front door, she slipped her shoes on as Zuko came out of his room <em> could he always dress so well? </em></p><p>"Want to get breakfast after class?" He asked as they stepped out of the apartment. Just as she was going to decline because of <em> reasons</em>, her stomach decided to announce itself to the public.</p><p>
  <em> Where, oh where, did thy dignity gone? </em>
</p><p>"Well, that settles it," he wasn't laughing but she could hear that he wanted to and for that, she smacked his arm.</p><p>"Don't make fun of me." </p><p>With that silly grin of his, he saluted. "Yes ma'am."</p><p>-</p><p>Everyone's going to know.</p><p>They're going to see this sweater and they're going to think something happened between them.</p><p>As strange as it was to her, it didn't bother her. Especially when she stepped into the room, laughing at something stupid he said. And when Zuko dropped her bag next to her seat, she realized just how it cemented the thought.</p><p>Amused, she sat down in her seat, waiting for them to be called.</p><p>On the way to the class, they finally have a better list to show the teacher. Zuko had been right about it being only the first week and they weren't expected to have a lot but they were both pretty thorough people. Whatever they had before just hadn't felt <em> enough </em> and even then, Katara wanted to do more research.</p><p>But now, relaxed as they wait their turn, they talked about other things. It was how the topic of tattoos came up again - and to her mild amusement and bafflement, he wouldn't tell her what he got.</p><p>"Come on, Koko, just tell me." </p><p>"Nuh-uh," he shook his head, a grin on his lips. "Not going to tell you."</p><p>Raising her eyebrows, she turned fully in her seat to face him. "Why not?" </p><p>"I have my reasoning." He leaned back with that stupidly attractive smirk that was definitely not all that attractive. </p><p>Before she could argue with him on it further, the instructor called their name. Narrowing her eyes, she pointed at him as she stood up. "I'm going to see it eventually, Hokom."</p><p>He merely hummed as he followed her, the curl of his lips screaming mischief. "Promise?"</p><p>That made no sense in the concept of what they were talking about. She had only enough time to shoot him a puzzled glance as then their teacher started asking questions.</p><p>-</p><p>Their mythology instructor was surprised by their progression in the project. She wasn't expecting them to learn as much as they did and Katara wore that on her smile.</p><p>Zuko was laughing at her but Katara didn't pay much mind to it. "If we continue on the track we set, we'll probably learn a lot more by the end of the term." </p><p>"Probably find out just how much truth is in the myth." He brought up as they piled into his car.</p><p>Katara nodded as she waited for him to start driving. "And if it wasn't a mere coincidence that our families' seals are similar to those surrounding the bending symbols."</p><p>"Could it mean we're somehow related to the leaders of those times?"</p><p>The idea hadn't crossed her mind earlier and the more she pondered over it, the more it made sense.</p><p>"What are the odds? You related to the Fire Lord of that time, me related to the Chief."</p><p>"Toph related to the Kings of the Earth Kingdoms." He added.</p><p>That was a little spooky if it were the case. And if they followed this trend then… "Okay, so hypothetically," she began, looking at Zuko from the corner of her eyes. "Do you think the others could somehow have a connection?"</p><p>She was bracing herself for his ridicule but to her surprise, a thoughtful look passed over his face.</p><p>"Do you think Suki could be related to the Kyoshi Warriors?" He finally broke the silence, glancing at her briefly.</p><p>"Would we have to talk about them?" She furrowed her brows, wondering just how large of a myth the Avatar was. "It fits the timeline."</p><p>Her partner shrugged, mirroring her expression. "You think so? But," he then frowned, the corners of his lips tucked. "The Warriors were real - there are so much documentation and evidence to prove it. Wouldn't it be weird if we included it?"</p><p>He did have a point.</p><p>Groaning, Katara dragged a hand down her face. They were getting ahead of themselves. If they kept going in this direction, the next thing they would say was that Aang was related to the Avatar since they were the last person from the Air Nomads.</p><p>Zuko's grumble broke her thoughts. "Honestly, I'm too hungry to think more about this."</p><p>That, they both could agree on.</p><p>-</p><p>"Thank you for the ride."</p><p>She hopped out of the car, pausing on his side when he rolled down the window.</p><p>"When should we meet up to work on it some more?" He asked. </p><p>Katara pulled out her phone to start going over the assignments in the other classes she had to do for that week and grimaced. "I won't be completely free from homework until Friday. Hey," lightening up with an idea, she faced him again. "Let's meet up for some studying. I work best with company."</p><p>"My place or yours?"</p><p>And it would have been an innocent question if he didn't smirk after asking it. Deciding to play along, she threw her hair over her shoulder, her own lips pulling into a sly smile. "Well, it's only proper I ask for the second date, right?"</p><p>She knew she caught him off guard when instead of replying, his mouth parted slightly and his eyes widened. Maybe she would tease him more often if <em> this </em>was the reaction she would get. </p><p>Moving on before he could turn the tables onto her, she tugged on the sleeve of the sweater. "I'll give back your sweater when you come over."</p><p>But Zuko was Zuko, which meant he liked getting the last word in. When that ever-present grin was back, his posture relaxed, it meant she was in trouble. </p><p>And trouble it was.</p><p>"Keep it. I like seeing you in my clothes."</p><p>And for the second time since they reunited, Zuko left her with her jaw dropped.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"Something's off about Katara."<br/>"I was about to say the same thing about Zuko, twinkle toes."<br/>"... do you think...?<br/>"..."<br/>"Nah, no way. We would definitely know if they were talking again."<br/>"They'd give us a damn near heart attack if they did."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>so i changed the second half of this chapter!! the pacing seemed a little off to me and im blaming it on the fact that i mostly wrote it while sleep deprived. but i like this better and i hope y'all do too!! &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>"Just admit it."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She threw her hands into the air. "I can't admit what's not true!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It isn't a lie, though. Just admit it, Katara."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You want me to admit that I like Zuko Hokom?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Honestly, it's more of a confirmation. We already  know you like him."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>°°°</em>
</p><p>He teased her all week. </p><p>Apparently, when she asked to wear his sweater, it opened her up to his attacks.</p><p>This was a new territory for them - sure, before, they used to tease each other relentlessly. But what Zuko was doing now, it was not the same thing.</p><p>No, she would consider what he's doing as <em> flirting. </em> And it left her more flustered than she has ever been around someone. Not even her past, albeit short lasting, lovers were able to pull the same reaction out of her.</p><p>And that thought left her reeling because what was she doing comparing Zuko to her past <em> lovers </em>?</p><p>No, she knew why. She doesn't want to revisit it, though.</p><p>But after all of this, Katara couldn't deny it.</p><p>She used to have a crush on him. Despite all their bickering, all their fights, she couldn't shake it away. It was the driving point that always brought her back to him. Of course, when asked about it, she denied it. She didn't want to believe it herself. It was also part of the reason she was more sensitive when he said things. Spirit, she picked fights on certain things she wouldn't have if it was someone else.</p><p>Which then leads her to think about how their current friendship was going. There was certainly something different between them now - she finds herself laughing harder, smiling a little more at his silliness, and it was like she had her best friend again. There was an understanding between them that wasn't there before.</p><p>And she was afraid to mess it up. She was absolutely <em> terrified </em> that things would change if she said just one thing wrong. But the easiness between them currently, and the fact that she wasn't constantly on the defense mindset, it put some of her trouble at rest. There were definitely some moments that, before, would have delved into an argument but this time, they didn't do that. In fact, they <em> joked </em> about it, which made her think that they were okay.</p><p>More than okay, if Zuko’s brutal teasing was anything to go by.</p><p>Both in person and over the phone.</p><p>The day after their mutual class, Katara had been in the library catching up on her other classes. She was already falling behind in lessons due to the single-minded focus she set onto their myth project. Then Zuko video called her and after taking one look at her frazzled self, he told her not to move.</p><p>And that was how she found herself in the same booth at Zuko, eating her first meal of the day, while studying with him. Having food in her system definitely helped her regain her focus on her assignments. But it lasted all of a half an hour before Zuko was tugging at her hair, demanding her attention.</p><p>It went downhill from there. No, she did end up finishing what she wanted to get done but it wasn't with much help from him.</p><p>He even had the audacity to ask why she wasn't in his sweater. Katara went to whack him only to have him catch her hand and then throw her a <em> wink. </em> </p><p>Stupid, attractive Fire Nation jerk.</p><p>It was much the same for the next two days. </p><p>On the second day, she wasn't as swamped with classwork the way she had been a day earlier. She ended up stealing his jacket in retaliation for distract her from her assignments.</p><p>She ended up going home with his jacket.</p><p>But by the third day, she was just as comfortable with touching him as he seemed to be of her. Instead of sitting across from each other now, they were always side by side.</p><p>It was both a blessing and a curse.</p><p>If she needed help on a subject he took before, it was easier to show her from this position. But it also meant it was easier for him to bother her. </p><p>Which led to now.</p><p>"Kat." He poked her side. "Kit-kat."</p><p>"What?" she grunted, her eyes still on the papers in front of her. There were only a couple left for her to finish and then she could go home and be free-</p><p>"Ka-ta-ra." A gentle tug on her hair. "You said we could get dinner."</p><p>"Give me a second," she mumbled, only paying half a mind to his words. Now, if she could figure out this reaction then-</p><p>Another poke. "Kat-"</p><p>
  <em> Fuck it. </em>
</p><p>Dropping the papers, she whirled around to face him, her hand on his chin. She narrowed her eyes, unaware of how still he went. She pulled him closer until there was only a few inches between them.</p><p>"You're going to sit there like the pretty boy you are and you're going to let me finish this assignment. <em> Then </em> we'll get dinner. Okay?"</p><p>She wasn't paying attention to his reaction, not until she noticed pink starting to color his cheeks. Then how wide his eyes became and felt her lips curl. Raising one eyebrow when he still hadn't replied, she pulled him closer. </p><p>"Okay?"</p><p>She released his chin when he gave the smallest of nod. Feeling bold from this interaction, she patted his cheek. "Good boy."</p><p>That lovely pink darkened.</p><p>Much to her appreciation, and amusement, he remained quiet while she finished up her work. If she knew it was <em> this </em>easy to fluster him, she would have started a while ago. Now, Katara felt like they were on even grounds. And she vowed to get him back from his constant teasing from earlier in the week.</p><p>She wondered how far this would go.</p><p>The thought had her biting the inside of her cheeks. Because that crush she had on him before, it never went away like she thought it had. Seeing him on the first day of class reminded her of it. Then they were friends and hanging out more often. And now, <em> this. </em></p><p>The moment she held his chin, she knew the tides were changing and he would take it as a challenge. But this challenge, Katara, much to her surprise, was welcoming it. Spirits, she was <em> anticipating </em> it.</p><p>Maybe it'll be her favorite challenge of all.</p><p>By the time she finished up and they started packing, Zuko’s cheeks were back to their normal pale color, to her disappointment.</p><p>Just as she was going to suggest a place to eat, he suddenly leaned in close, a smirk tugging his lips back. His hand came up, slipping his fingers into her hair to tilt her head, bringing himself much closer than she had earlier.</p><p>
  <em> Too close. </em>
</p><p>"Hmm," he hummed, his gaze lingering on her lips, his voice as- "such pretty lips."</p><p><em>Holy</em> <em>fuck.</em></p><p>Mind blanking as he trailed his eyes to meet hers, and he <em> knew </em>what he was doing to her. He knew exactly what those words were doing to her as he pulled away slowly, his gaze never leaving hers as he picked up her bag.</p><p>She could only stare while she desperately tried to bring the air back into her lungs, wanting him to not know how much he rattled her.</p><p>Because he had no reason to do that to her.</p><p>Gulping, she followed him out of the library, feeling her cheeks glow. But…</p><p>This was what she wanted, right? This push-pull, this give and take, this <em> challenge </em>?</p><p>Of course, he would accept it. And Katara wasn't even mad, not when she felt ghosted her fingers across her lips, feeling them pull back into a small smile.</p><p>Based off of what happened earlier, she was pretty sure this was starting to become more than a crush. And she was pretty sure it was mutual, if that blaze in his eyes were anything to go by. A flame that was starting to grow in her as well. Especially when he threw a grin over his shoulder at her.</p><p>This should worry her. That they were treading towards an area they couldn't come back from. And before, Katara would have thought of all this as <em> impossible. </em>The idea that Zuko would ever look at her the way she did never crossed her mind. But Katara was a woman who went after what she wanted and now, she has her eyes set on Zuko Hokom.</p><p>And she prayed to the spirits it was mutual.</p><p>-</p><p>“So.”</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Feels like I haven’t seen you in a while.”</p><p>Katara looked up from her laptop, frowning when she caught the way Suki was staring at her. It was too aloof, an expression Katara had been on the receiving end of more than once.</p><p>It meant Suki thought Katara was holding something back.</p><p>And Katara held in a grimace - that look has been right every time so far.</p><p>“We saw each other last week.” She tried to deflect, her gaze back onto her laptop. If Suki couldn’t see her face, it would be harder to read her. Katara was terrible at keeping her emotions off her face and her friend had a knack for understanding them so well.</p><p>“But we hardly talked. So,” the seat next to her dipped and Katara knew she wasn’t able to get out of this. Especially when Suki threw her arm around her. “Anything new with you.”</p><p>She had two options; either complain about her classes or tell her friend the truth.</p><p>And no way in La’s name would Katara do the latter.</p><p>“Just that these classes are so hard,” she groaned, dropping her head against Suki’s shoulder. “Why did I sign up for them? I mean, organic chemistry and anatomy? Plus calculus?” She shook her head as she pointed at the camera as if it was offending her just by existing. </p><p>She could tell this wasn’t what Suki was after when she heard the surprise intake of breath. But Katara kept it pushing, giving her no chance to ask about anything else. </p><p>Moving her head to her lap, she groaned again. “Save me from this insanity, Suki.” </p><p>“Well, smarty pants,” the other girl chuckled, and Katara almost let out a sigh of relief. “That’s why I am here - I wanted to make sure you were treating yourself okay.”</p><p>Throwing her arms around Suki’s waist, she then smiled up at her. “What would I do without you?” </p><p>Katara felt almost bad from hiding the fact that Zuko and her were friends again. It wasn’t like her to hide things from Suki and she wasn’t even sure <em> why </em>she was keeping it a secret in the first place. And from what she gathered, Zuko has done the same thing. It was a mutual agreement between them and Katara didn’t want to break now.</p><p>But then she was getting her cheek patted as that aloof expression slid back over her Suki’s face. </p><p>“I was expecting you to be more frazzled, if I’m being honest. Anything I should know about?”</p><p><em> Tui, </em>why did her friend have to be so damn good at reading her? </p><p>“I guess, uh,” she hurried to sit up, scrambling to find an answer. “I’m handling school better than I thought I would.”</p><p>She was not going to tell her it was because Zuko would check up on her. Or how henever they were studying in the library together, he always made sure she had something to eat. Or how he was able to pull her out of her mind when she would get frustrated.</p><p>Nope, Katara couldn’t mention any of this at all. </p><p>But Suki didn’t believe her, if the raised eyebrow was anything to go by. And just as she opened her mouth, Katara’s saving grace came in the form of her ringing phone. </p><p>Letting out a sigh that wasn’t all that inaudible, she snatched her phone up. Throwing her friend an unapologetic smile, she quickly slipped out of the living room and headed towards her room. She could feel her eyes on her and Katara just <em> knew </em>Suki would be asking about the call.</p><p>Taking in a breath, she answered the incoming videocall.</p><p>
  <em> “Hey gorgeous, you busy?” </em>
</p><p><em> Oh. </em> So they were doing <em> that </em>now?</p><p>Shaking herself slightly, she looked over at the door before moving further away from it. When she felt like she wouldn’t be overheard, she turned back to her phone. “Suki’s over but I left her in the living room.”</p><p>
  <em> “Not very good hospitality etiquettes.” </em>
</p><p>She rolled her eyes. The audacity, truly. “Bite me.”</p><p>
  <em> “Tempting. Will you be free later this evening?” </em>
</p><p>Snorting, she brushed her hair over her shoulder. <em> Two can play this game. </em>“Please tell me that’s not how you actually ask people out. It’s pathetic.”</p><p>He narrowed his eyes and <em> oh, </em> was he always this attractive when he was riled up? <em> “Fuck you. </em>”</p><p>Now <em> that </em>was an idea. An idea she was getting all too familiar with lately, may the spirits help her. </p><p>Her tongue running across her bottom lip, she then threw him a wink. “Is that a promise?”</p><p>
  <em> “Katara.” </em>
</p><p>Her name sounded so nice when it was coming from him. Shivering, she pulled her legs crosser to her chest and cleared her throat. She needed to answer his question but from the way he was staring at her through the phone, it was becoming near damn impossible.</p><p>“I don’t know when Suki is leaving but I will be free tomorrow morning.” She finally got out, whacking her mind if he told her why he was asking. When she realized he didn’t, her eyebrows furrowed. “Wait, why?”</p><p><em> “Don’t tell me you forgot about our date. My heart is crushed, cupcake.” </em>With the most scandalous expression, he then pressed the back of his palm against his forehead and leaned away from the phone. </p><p>She couldn’t help the huff of laughter; she forgot how dramatic he could be. “Ask me properly and I might reconsider.”</p><p>He grinned. <em> “Duly noted. Anyways, I was looking over some of the articles we found and one of the writers actually lives here in Ba Sing Se.” </em></p><p>She blinked, not having expected this. It has been a couple of days since they continued their research so she shouldn’t have been completely surprised. Though, one of the author’s living in Ba Sing Se? That was convenient.</p><p>“What article did they write?”</p><p>
  <em> “The one about the Avatar helping in ending the war. I reached out and they said they could meet up with us either today or tomorrow.” </em>
</p><p>At this, she raised her eyebrow. “Please tell me we aren’t meeting up in a stranger’s house. I am willing to follow you wherever, babes, but a potential serial killer is where I have to draw the line, unfortunately.”</p><p>He rolled his eyes. <em> “How disappointing. No, at a coffee shop near the university. So, tomorrow morning? We can spend the day working on the project.” </em></p><p>The next check-in was going to be during the next class so it was best they sat down to do some more digging. “As long as you get me-”</p><p>
  <em> “Your coffee, I know. When have I forgotten?” </em>
</p><p>This time, Katara placed her hand on her forehead. “Oh, you’re making me swoon.”</p><p>
  <em> “Bye, Kit-kat.” </em>
</p><p>Chuckling, she waved as he ended the call and then she just sat there for a moment, a smile on  her lips. Then-</p><p>“Katara?"</p><p><em> Oh, fuck. </em>She forgot about Suki.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"I think Katara might be seeing someone."<br/>"Suki, don't you think she'd tell us if she did?"<br/>"Yeah, but the other day, someone called her and she refused to let me question her, Sokka."<br/>"That... is odd. Zuko did the same thing to me yesterday."<br/>"Maybe...?"<br/>"Yeah, no, impossible."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I did make changes to previous chapter a couple of days ago so please read if you didn't get to, yet! Again, thank you all for reading!♡ And comments are greatly appreciated!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>"You need to stop drinking coffee."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"And why is that?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It's not healthy for you."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Katara made sure he was watching as she took a deliberate sip. "Is that so."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Zuko groaned. "At least drink tea."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>°°°</em>
</p><p>Mornings were insufferable, Katara believed. But when she got into Zuko’s car, her iced coffee sitting in the cup holder, she thinks they could be tolerable. Of course, the person driving did have something to do with her lightened mood, but she wasn’t going to admit that.</p><p>At least, not out loud. </p><p>“Why did you have to pick such an early time,” she muttered, bringing the straw to her mouth.</p><p>“I’m surprised you actually got up.” He smirked and if she didn’t have the drink in her hands, she would have smacked him. “I thought I would have to drag you out of bed again.”</p><p>“If you made it thirty minutes earlier, you probably would have,” she said drily, setting the drink back down when she felt a little more herself. Spirits, she was going to have to stop drinking these so often and go back to her teas before she became addicted. But if Zuko wanted to bring her some, she wasn’t going to complain.</p><p>“It’s nine-thirty, Katara.”</p><p>She raised an eyebrow. “And?” </p><p>He glanced over at her, amusement pooling in his gaze. “It’s not that early.”</p><p>Katara narrowed her eyes and pointed a non-threatening finger at him. “How are you this hyper? Is there a special ritual you do in the morning?”</p><p>He rolled his eyes, his attention back on the road as he pulled into the main street. “Besides meditating, it’s a natural thing.”</p><p>“Then again,” she took another sip of her drink, her lips curling. “You can’t stay up for shit.”</p><p>“Says the girl who nearly knocked out on my floor last week.”</p><p><em>You do one thing and they never let you forget about it</em>. Katara shrugged. “I had to wake up at an offending time that day. It was actually the earliest I’ve slept in a while.”</p><p>He snorted, his hand reaching over to the other cup, one she knew held a warm beverage. Despite the heat that clings to this city, she hardly ever saw him with a cold beverage. “You rise with the moon but I rise with the sun.”</p><p>The straw was midway to her mouth and it hovered there as her mind took a moment to process what he said. When it did register that, yes, he did say that, she turned her head slowly in his direction. </p><p>Gradually, she lowered her drink, her eyebrows raising at the same time. “Did you just…?”</p><p>The grimace appeared immediately on his face. “Let’s forget I said that.”</p><p><em>As if she would</em> <em>.</em> She shook her head, a snort making its way past her nose. “Never.“</p><p>He groaned and she couldn’t help but laugh at his theatrics. He was always so amusing and what he said wasn’t technically a lie. She was more awake, more active at night and he was the most morning person she ever met.</p><p>“Next time, I’m making you stay up late with me.” She pointed out, her lips tugging into a grin when he scoffed. “Nah, that’s your punishment for dragging me in the morning. You know my beauty sleep is important, pretty boy.”</p><p>“I thought the coffee would suffice.”</p><p>She tsked, disappointment settling in her bones when she took her last sip. If only some good things didn’t have to come to an end. “Might be time to switch to caffeine today because we are watching a movie tonight. After this hectic week of mine, I deserve it.”</p><p>When he turned to her with a shit-eating grin, Katara wished she could take back her words. She was getting familiar with that look and it meant-</p><p>"Asking me to spend the night? How scandalous of you."</p><p><em>There it was</em>.</p><p>Swallowing hard, Katara leaned over to him and with her finger on his cheek, turned his head back towards the traffic. "Keep this act up and I'm going to change my mind."</p><p>The meaning behind her words hit her right after she spoke them and fuck, the implications of it was obvious. Painfully obvious and by the curl of his lips, she knew he understood. By saying that, she was asking him to spend the night and he knew.</p><p>Any other friend, she wouldn't have thought much of it. Wouldn't even bat her eyelashes at it. But this was Zuko, the man who she has been flirting with for the past couple of weeks. Who she was having a growing crush on.</p><p>But her words were out there and Katara bit the side of her cheeks. Despite it all, she didn't want to take the invitation back. Sure, they've gotten food together and even studied together, but they never really just <em>hung out</em>. Would the easiness she found between them be the same when there wasn't something mutual that was bounding them together?</p><p>Then again, when they did grab lunch and weren't studying, they were fine. More than fine and Katara was hoping that it would be the same tonight. Though, the image of Zuko, in his comfy clothes, chilling on her couch while they watched a movie, was starting to break her mind.</p><p>"Alright, princess. We're here."</p><p>Blinking, she looked around, having been distracted by her thoughts to realize they arrived. </p><p>“You okay?”</p><p>Shaking herself, she flashed him a quick smile before slipping out of her seat. “Just peachy.” When Zuko came around, she fell in step with him. “I’m surprised this author agreed to meet us so quickly. Didn’t you just contact them yesterday?”</p><p>When he didn’t immediately respond, she briefed a glance over at him, surprised to catch the odd look he was sending her way. As if he knew something was on her mind but deciding to not question her.</p><p>He answered her question as he looked away. “I was surprised, too, but when I told him I was a student studying about the Avatar myth, he immediately agreed to meet.”</p><p>“Maybe we’d finally get an answer to some of our questions. Do you know what he looks like?”</p><p>There was another beat of silence and Katara had her answer.</p><p>“I’m sure we’ll find him,” Zuko finally muttered, ducking his head in that endearing way he did sometimes. “He doesn’t seem like a hard person to find.”</p><p>"If you say so," she patted his arm, following him inside the coffee shop. </p><p>And true to Zuko’s words, it wasn't at all hard to find the man they were looking for. Weirdly enough, the shop was pretty empty, only a handful of students scattered around. Only one of the customers was an older man. With a shared glance, they approached him, hoping it was the right person.</p><p>"Excuse me, are you Beho Chute?"</p><p>The man raised his eyes, his words sharp. "Yes, who would like to-" Abruptly, he cut off his sentence, his grey eyes widening when he caught sight of them. He was looking at them as if they were ghosts. "Sweet Agni and Tui… I can't believe it."</p><p>The last part was spoken softly but due to the quietness of the shop, Katara heard it clearly. Her shoulders lifting slightly, she took a closer step to Zuko,  who shifted slightly, standing in front of her protectively. </p><p>"Can't believe what?" She asked from over her partner's shoulder, frowning as he continued to stare at them and she swore he hasn't blinked once. </p><p>"You look so much like them… <em>he was right</em>." it was as if he hadn't heard her and she leaned closer to Zuko, her mouth near his ear.</p><p>"I'm not staying if he's going to be like this." she muttered, her eyes narrowing at the grown man. She didn't like the way he was looking at them and there was just something about him that was causing her hackles to rise.</p><p>Just as she was preparing to tug on Zuko’s shirt and leave the coffee shop, it was as if he broke from a trance. The author straightened up then blinked, the slacked-jaw expression melting off his face. </p><p>"Oh! Forgive ol' silly me. I take it that you are the students who contacted me yesterday?"</p><p>She was tempted to say no. But then Zuko turned his head and sent her a questioning gaze, waiting to see what she wanted to do. Her gaze shifting back to the older man, she took in a deep breath. They were already here; they might as well take the time to talk to him. She gave a small nod, shuffling around until she was sitting one of the seats across from him.</p><p>"Yes, I'm Zuko and this is Katara." Zuko pulled the last chair closer to her, until his leg was pressed firmly against hers. She was almost embarrassed by how distracted it made her.</p><p>"It's a pleasure to meet you." The man smiled. "In the email, you mentioned having some questions?"</p><p>Katara nodded as she reached into her bag. Pulling out the small notebook where she quickly jotted down a few questions. "There was only so much we could find on the Avatar. How does one become the Avatar?"</p><p>That was one of their biggest inquiries and they hoped having the answers to that would clear up a few things.</p><p>"Ah, the spirits choose."</p><p>Her pen was over the paper, waiting to write whatever was said and she waited. When it looked like he wasn't going to see more, she glanced over at Zuko. He met her gaze, the corners of his lips tucked, betraying how confused he was. </p><p>That couldn't just be it. There had to be more.</p><p>Zuko broke their eye contact. "There's nothing more to it?"</p><p>The older man shook his head, as he brought his cup to his lips. "It's as simple as that. No one has any idea on how the spirits choose who the new Avatar will be."</p><p>"Huh." Was it really that simple? Writing it down, she decided to move on. She still wasn't completely satisfied by that answer but it was clear Beho wasn't going to elaborate further. "Why was the Avatar missing for a hundred of years?"</p><p>The moment she asked that, Beho looked away, his eyebrows pinched. His voice was tight as he answered, furthering her confusion. "The War."</p><p>A beat of silence and then a faraway look glossed over his eyes. As if this was bringing back memories.</p><p>"I…" unable to comprehend, Katara turned back to Zuko, hoping he knew what the man meant.</p><p>But when he shook his head, she let out a small sigh. If they weren't going to really get answers, she was going to have to think of something besides having him stay up with her tonight.</p><p>"The War?" <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Zuko</span></span> asked slowly, his frown deepening. "It was because of the Hundred Year War?"</p><p>As if shaken from his thoughts, the older man whirled around to face them with wide eyes. Startled by the quick change, <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> dropped her pin. </p><p>"Ah! You know about the War! Wretched war it was - The Fire Nation nearly won, too. It’s a good thing he was found and was able to master the elements.” </p><p><em> Who is this man? </em> The irritation she felt earlier flared up again, wondering if they could trust what he says now. He hadn’t really told them anything they didn’t already know and <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> could feel her patience waning. </p><p>Thankfully, it was <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Zuko</span></span> who recovered the quickest and asked the next question. “Master the elements? So, they are not born already being able to bend?” </p><p>“Nope!” He shook his head, the sparkle back in his eyes. “They usually are able to master their home’s element before leaving to learn from masters of the other elements.”</p><p>Straightening up, <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> picked up her pen again. That did make sense - the Avatar would need to practice the elements like anyone else. It <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenGrammarError">must be</span></span><span class="mceItemHidden"> how peace <span class="hiddenSuggestion">was able to</span> </span><span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSuggestion">remain</span></span>; someone going around the world to learn of their ways and bringing everyone together. She quickly jotted down this information but <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSuggestion">whereas</span></span> this answered one of their questions, it created more in its wake.</p><p>"So, do you know who helped the Avatar master all the elements?" She asked, tapping her cheek with the top of the pen. They haven't found much on anyone else and she was curious - who were the ones helping the Avatar out?</p><p>"Why, they are called the Young Heroes." <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Behu</span></span> perked up, his fingers laced on the table in front of him. "Kids from different places coming together to end the war."</p><p><em>What</em>? "I'm sorry - did you say <em>kids</em>?" </p><p>He brushed off the questions, as if it should have been obvious. "Yes - from the Southern Water Tribe to <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Kyoshi</span></span> Island to <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenGrammarError">the city of</span></span> <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Gaoling</span></span>. Even the palace of Caldera City. Kids that have done what no other could."</p><p>From what she read so far about bending, masters were usually older people. But children being the ones to train and fight along with the Avatar? Did that mean he was a kid as well? And if he was young when the Young Heroes won the war, there was still one element that the world hadn't seen in years.</p><p>"So, if kids trained the Avatar, then who taught him how to master air?” She spoke up, unable to hold herself back. This question has been on the tip of her tongue since she stepped foot into this shop and damn it, she wanted answers.</p><p>The author opened his mouth and as he was about to speak, his gaze shifted to something over her shoulder, causing him to freeze. <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> didn't <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenGrammarError">have the chance</span></span> to search for what caused such a reaction when <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Beho</span></span> shot up from his seat, a look of panic washing over his face.</p><p>"I have already said too much," he muttered, his hands fluttering as he gathered his stuff. "No, they <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenGrammarError">won't be</span></span> happy…but," he stopped as he was closing his bag and stared at them. </p><p><span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Zuko</span></span> started to stand. "<span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Wait-</span></span>"</p><p>"No, no, I don't have time." <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Beho</span></span> suddenly reached for <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Zuko's</span></span> hand, closing his first around something. "Here. Protect this with your life. I must leave."</p><p>By the time <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> realized he was about to walk away, she let out a frustrated sound and stood up. It was clear this man knew more than he was letting on and she couldn't understand why he was being so evasive.</p><p>"Where did the Avatar come from?" She asked, her irritation leaking into her words, wanting to know more. "Which land did he come from?"</p><p>She watched as <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Beho</span></span> glanced over her shoulder again before leaning closer to them, his voice dropped.</p><p>"He was a miracle to the world, the last of his kind, this, <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Zuko</span></span> <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Hokom</span></span> and <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Vamedu</span></span>, you must remember."</p><p>And with that, he was gone, nearly sprinting out of the shop and all she could do was stare. </p><p>"Well… that was, um." <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Zuko</span></span> broke the silence that settled around them. "Interesting."</p><p><em> Interesting </em> was definitely one way to label <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSuggestion">the whole</span></span> experience.</p><p>Groaning, <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> dropped back into her seat, burying her face into her hands. Just when they thought they would finally make a <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSuggestion">breakthrough</span></span>, they <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenGrammarError">were forced</span></span> to take a couple of steps back. Now, the only lean they had practically ran from them <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">and-</span></span></p><p>"Wait," lifting her head up, she narrowed her eyes. "He knew our last names."</p><p><span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Zuko</span></span> blinked, settling down in his seat. "What?"</p><p>"Did you tell him our last name?"</p><p>When the realization dawned on him and he started to slowly shake his head, she decided that maybe, caffeine was not going <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenGrammarError">to be</span></span> their choice of beverage tonight.</p><p>"I didn't even tell him your name before we met him. In fact," he pulled out his phone, taking a moment to scroll through it. "I didn't even mention my last name."</p><p>"Then how…"</p><p>He looked at her, helpless.</p><p>This was the second time someone knew who they were while they were searching for more information. It was getting a bit weird and <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> wondered briefly if it was too late to change topics.</p><p><span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Zuko</span></span> then held up the thing <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Beho</span></span> placed in his hand. "He gave me a <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Pai</span></span> Sho piece."</p><p>"The game?"</p><p>"You know about it?"</p><p>She nodded, taking it from him to inspect it further. "It's <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">GranGran's</span></span> favorite game and according to her, all old people play it."</p><p>"Huh," he glanced back at the door. "Uncle says the same thing."</p><p>This was getting too weird, <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> decided. </p><p>"<span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Zuko</span></span>, forget <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">caffeine-</span></span> we're drinking tonight." </p><p>-</p><p>After the mess that was their morning, they stopped by Zuko’s place for food and so he could pack a bag. Because he was sleeping over. At her place. Tonight.</p><p>
  <em> Spirits, save me. </em>
</p><p>At least eating was able to distract her from thinking too much about it. </p><p>But now, as they sprawled out on the floor of her living room, she was nearing the end of her wits.</p><p>They've been at it for hours and only found small snippets about the Young Warriors, only enough to write less than a page about it.</p><p><em>I'm going to die from stress</em>, she thought sadly while the screen of her computer started to blur. How disappointing. </p><p>Just as she was getting ready to call it quits and haul out the wine, <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Zuko</span></span> jerked with a shout.</p><p>"I found something!"</p><p>"Oh, thank the spirits," she closed her laptop immediately and tossed it on the couch. "I think my brain was melting for a second there. So," she scooted over to him, wanting him to know if they could stop researching now. "What did you find?"</p><p>"The Avatar myth goes back a long time, right? Well," he moved back to the article he found, tilting the screen show she could see clearly.</p><p>And <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> tried to read it. At first, she thought it was because of the hours she spent looking at her laptop for the reason she couldn't comprehend this. It was only after she tried skimming a second time did she realize the true reason.</p><p>"This is in a different language."</p><p>"Bingo." His lips curling into a smile, he switched back to their shared document. "As a kid, I <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenGrammarError">was forced</span></span> to learn the Fire Nation’s Old Tongue. And I wasn't expecting to find anything but you're going to like this."</p><p>Clearing his throat, he gave <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> no time to adjust to this information before he began to read what he translated so far. “The Young Heroes traveled the world, bringing hope wherever they went. Such unity hasn’t been seen in nearly a hundred years. But the Avatar and the Crown Prince were not the true saviors of the World.”</p><p>“Wait,” she placed a hand on his shoulder, struggling to digest all of it at once. There were many things she wanted to ask but decided to start at the beginning. “You know the Fire Nation’s Old Tongue?”</p><p>The firm set of her lips let her know it wasn’t a fond memory.</p><p>“Among other things, yeah. <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Ozai</span></span> thought it would be impressive when he wanted to become president.” </p><p><em>Oh</em>. “How’d you know looking it up in that language would be useful?” She changed the subject, hoping to ease the tension she could feel from where she was touching him. And as she hoped, the dark cloud from his face receded.</p><p>“I did it as a <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenGrammarError">last ditch</span></span> effort.” He shrugged nonchalantly, but from the way his smile was back, <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> knew he was proud of himself for trying it out. “I was able to find this at the bottom of the second page of research.” </p><p>“Does this mean the Fire Lord had a son who turned against him?”</p><p>“Beho did say one of the heroes was from Caldera City. And from this, we can guess who taught the Avatar to bend fire.”</p><p>“Huh,” she looked back over the document. “That’s the second best poetic justice possible. The Fire Lord’s own son turned around and helped the Avatar stop him.”</p><p>“That’s not all - it also talks about two siblings from the Southern Water Tribe being the true saviors. They were the ones who found the Avatar and were the first ones to help him. Which, I’m assuming, either means the Avatar came from the Water Tribe or-”</p><p>“He wasn’t from there but they found him.”</p><p><span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Zuko</span></span> nodded. “And if it was the latter, then they must have taught him to master water bending.”</p><p>That made the most sense to <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span>. If the Avatar was from either Water Tribe, it would have mentioned that information, she was sure. And if the Avatar had someone helping him with two of the elements, it must mean they were from just one other place.</p><p>“The Avatar must have been born into the Earth Kingdom, then.” She concluded, glancing over to her partner. “If he had a master helping him in fire and water, that would mean he could bend earth first, right?”</p><p>And since the Air Nomads were gone, it wasn’t likely he was an air bender. She still didn’t quite understand how the Avatar managed to master that particular element. But from the twist of Zuko’s lips, there must have been more to it than she originally thought.</p><p>“That’s the thing, though.” He pointed to a line he translated. “Later, it talks about an earth bending teacher, one who also ran away from a powerful family.”</p><p>There still had <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenGrammarError">to be</span></span> a logical explanation, <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> reasoned. “Maybe they didn’t know how to bend earth yet since they were found by the Water Tribe siblings?”</p><p>“Actually, uh,” he grimaced, “It mentions him already mastering an element before being found. Which means...” his tongue ran across his bottom lip before turning to face her. “He was an air bender.”</p><p>An <span class="mceItemHidden">air <span class="hiddenSpellError">bender</span></span>? She stared at him, trying to figure out if maybe the translation was wrong. That there was no way someone mastered <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenGrammarError">the element of</span></span> air when the very people of the nation <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenGrammarError">were decimated</span></span>. Unless some of them fled before the Fire Nation attacked, she couldn’t understand how it was possible. </p><p>“Well,” she finally spoke up, her voice weak. “Guess that answers a lot of questions.”</p><p>“Enough to bring to class tomorrow, at least.”</p><p>Now, <em> that </em> caught her attention. “Are we done researching, then?” She could hear the hopefulness in her voice and she couldn’t be mad when he caught <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSuggestion">onto</span></span> it as well.</p><p>“Someone’s eager,” but then he was closing his laptop and pushing it aside, an answer within itself.</p><p>“Finally!” she threw her arms up as she fell back, glad to finally put a pause in this project of theirs. She did love the myth and everything they found <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSuggestion">had been interesting</span></span> but she was ready for a relaxing evening.</p><p>His laughter reached her ears. “Where’s my reward?”</p><p>She sat up, her head cocked to the side. “Reward?”</p><p>His lips <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">quirked</span></span>, he nodded. “Don’t you think I should get a reward? We can watch our movie now.”</p><p>Usually, <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> wouldn’t even entertain the thought. And she knew he was only teasing, the mirth clear in his gaze. But if he hadn’t found that article, hadn’t taken the chance to research using the old language, <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> was sure she would have gone insane trying to find information by now. </p><p>With her mind made up, she got on her knees and moved towards him, ber heart pounding hard when his eyes began to widen. She was suddenly reminded about that time in the library, all those days ago, when she gripped his chin. </p><p>A hand on his shoulder, she leaned in close, and pressed her lips against his cheek, letting it linger there before trailing it upwards.</p><p>“Thank you,” she breathed against his ear, a smile dancing across her lips when a shiver broke out over him.</p><p>Standing up, she headed to her room, a glance over her shoulder telling her that he remained in the same <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSuggestion">position</span></span>; frozen.</p><p><em>Good</em>.</p><p>-</p><p>"<span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Zuko</span></span>, I will kick you off this couch."</p><p>"If you can even push me."</p><p>"Are you mocking my strength?"</p><p>A gasp. "I would never."</p><p>She narrowed her eyes. The movie <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSuggestion">has been playing</span></span> for the last twenty minutes but in all honesty, <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> had no idea what it was about. Tui, it took them forever to finally settle on it and now, they were not watching it.</p><p><span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> wasn't actually mad about it but damn it, he was being annoying.</p><p>Annoyingly adorable with that stupid smirk as he casually linked his fingers behind his head and she knew what he was getting at.</p><p>Swatting at him, she grabbed the blanket they were sharing and yanked it closer to her. "I'm taking back your blanket privilege."</p><p>"What? No." he held on, stopping her from tugging it. "That's not fair."</p><p>"Well, you're being an ass, so," she <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">tsked</span></span> at him. "We're no longer sharing a blanket."</p><p>"Ha," the corners of his mouth lifted. "If you wanted to see my ass, you could have just asked."</p><p><em>This man</em>.</p><p>"You," she gripped the blanket; "are," she leaned back; "insufferable." With her gaze locked on his, she tugged the blanket.</p><p>It followed her easily, surprising her until she felt something fall on her lap.</p><p>Confused, she looked down, only to realize it wasn't a <em>something</em>. It was <em>someone</em>.</p><p>Her jaw dropped, she could only watch as <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Zuko</span></span> rested his head on her thighs, his body facing the television.</p><p><span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError"><em>What</em>-</span></span> "<span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Zuko</span></span>?"</p><p>He hummed.</p><p>"What are you doing?"</p><p>"Watching the movie."</p><p>She stared for a moment, her cheeks blazing when he shifted closer to her. He was going <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenGrammarError">to be</span></span> the death of her, <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> decided.</p><p>Letting out a slow breath, she laid the blanket around them then paused with her hands in the air. She had no idea what to do with them; placing them on the arm rest would be too awkward and anywhere else would result in the same discomfort.</p><p>The most comfortable <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSuggestion">position</span></span> would be right in front of her but that would <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">mean-</span></span></p><p><em>Oh</em>.</p><p>She could run her fingers through his hair.</p><p>Holding in a smile, she slowly carded her fingers through them. He tensed up, clearly expecting her to do something else, but then he relaxed and her lips gave out.</p><p>Even with the silence between them, <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> still had no idea what the movie was about.</p><p>But she powered through it, only paying attention to the last few minutes when her mind finally settled. Sighing softly, she reached for the remote and was stopped by the head still on her lap. </p><p>Frowning, she called out his name. "<span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Zuko</span></span>?"</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>Her brows raised, she leaned over, only to realize he had fallen asleep.</p><p>"Well," she pressed her back against the couch, her fingers returning to his hair. "That would explain it."</p><p>She thought about waking him <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">up-</span></span> she didn't fix up the spare bed for no reason. But the warmth that radiated from him was nice and <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span> honestly didn't want to move. Not when she was comfortable.</p><p>Though, their backs would appreciate it.</p><p>"Ten minutes, then," she murmured, her head tilting back, eyes closing. "I'll wake him up in ten minutes."</p><p>She never made it to ten.</p><p>-</p><p>
  <em> "Katara…" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Her eyes twitched. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "Katara…" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Was someone in her house? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "Katara…" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> A gust of bitter cold wind washed over her, the fur of mittens familiar <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">and-</span></span> </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "<span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="hiddenSpellError">Katara</span></span>, get back here! We don't know what 'it' is!" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Her eyes snapped open. </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"Katara made a joke the other day."<br/>"How's that strange?"<br/>"She said, and I quote, 'I rise with the moon.'"<br/>"..."<br/>"And, twinkle toes, Zuko said 'I rise with the sun' just earlier."<br/>"A coincidence, maybe?"<br/>"Seriously?"</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>"Want to go penguin sledding?" </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Uh, sure!" </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He shouldn't be alive, he shouldn't be alive, he shouldn't be- </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"This is my sky-bison!" </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Sure, and this is my flying sister." </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He's alive, alive, alive- </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"I'm an air bender!" </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Guess the air benders haven't been here in a while, huh?" </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It's isn't possible, it's possible, he's-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"You're the Avatar." </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Aha... yup. That's me." </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>- </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Gasping, Katara jerked forward, her eyes snapping open. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hands clutching at her chest, she tumbled back when the weight on her lap bolted up. In her confusion, she stared with wide eyes. Breaths coming in short ragged puffs, she couldn't get her eyes to focus. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Holy..." she mumbled, rubbing the heels of her palm against her eyes. "What..." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The dream lingered, playing in a loop. She swore she could feel the biting cold, the snow underneath her boots, and her brother seemed so real. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>They</span>
  </em>
  <span> seemed so real. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When a groan came from next to her, memories of last night flooded her mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What in the name..." she turned her head towards the voice, her eyebrows furrowing when he looked just as disheveled as she felt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She watched as he blinked a few times, his eyes then darting around quickly before they landed on her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Katara," he muttered her name, wincing when he straightened his back. "Mornin'." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In her momentary dissonance of reality, she had forgotten she wasn't alone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Groaning, she closed her eyes, a grimace on her lips as she felt the strain on her neck. Bringing her hand up, she started massaging it. She knew this would happen but she had been too comfortable to move. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Morning," she muttered, her eyes fluttering open when she heard him shifting. Glancing over, she studied him as he started to stretch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We really slept out here?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You fell asleep here first." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He paused, his lone brow raising. "And you didn't bother to move us to the rooms?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shrugged, her lips tugging into a playful smile. "You were too warm. Didn't feel like moving." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That pulled a snort out of him. "Come here." He moved until he was facing her completely, his hand beckoning her over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still reeling from the vividness of her dreams, Katara didn't question it as she scooted over to him, turning so her back was to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I had the weirdest dream," he sighed, and she melted the moment his fingers came into contact with her neck, his thumb digging into the sorest spot. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That makes the two of us. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Her eyes fluttering closed, she leaned further back, humming as he continued to massage her neck. "What was it about?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was quiet between them for a moment before he started speaking. "I was on a ship and dressed like I was from another time period."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was enjoying his hands on her too much and it took a moment for his words to register. Eyes opening, a frown tugged at her lips. It was a coincidence that her dream had her dressed in something similar, wasn't it? She recognized the style from historical paintings and drawings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Then," he continued, "I was with my uncle and there was a bright light and we were heading towards it. But the weirdest part of it all," his hands paused and she had to force down the unsatisfied whine. "I was talking about finding the Avatar." </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The Avatar? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Blinking, she pulled away slightly and twisted around to face him. That was starting to hit closely to what she dreamt about. "You want to hear something that sounds crazy? I had a dream about the Avatar, too."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He let out a soft breath before leaning back against the armrest. "We've been spending too much time on this myth."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She agreed. But even as she went to vocalize her agreement, Katara couldn't shake off the feeling that it was more than just that. The dream felt real</span>
  <em>
    <span>, too real. </span>
  </em>
  <span>"It felt so real." She muttered instead, her gaze shifting to the side. "Sokka was there and then I was breaking this kid from an iceberg and he was an air bender.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Swallowing past the sudden harsh dryness of her throat, Katara didn't know what to believe. It was one thing to brush this off as a weird, hyper-fixated dream but another to be trading notes about it with Zuko.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And still, she could feel the lingering touches of the icy tundra of the Southern Water Tribe. The one thing she couldn't put her finger on was how the air bender had looked like. But she could have sworn they were familiar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko closed his eyes, leaning back against the armrest of the couch. “What time is it anyway? Please tell me we didn’t wake up late.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sighing, Katara started patting around, before spotting it on the coffee table. Picking it up, she let out a breath when she realized it hadn’t died yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though, the time did surprise her. “We have two hours until class. Which means,” she grinned and stood up, bringing her arms above her to stretch. “I can nap.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nap?” Zuko chuckled, looking up at her with mirth dancing across his eyes. “But we just woke up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Either join me or hush up,” she rolled her eyes, throwing one of the cushion pillows at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He caught it easily and the grin he gave her was doing things to her heart. “You’re inviting me to bed?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her own lips tugged and she leaned down towards him, a hand curling around his chin. “Don’t keep me waiting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara dropped his chin and straightened up, taking a moment to watch the way he gulped before she turned around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was a dangerous game she was playing, Katara knew this. As she slipped into her room, she pressed herself against the door and took in a deep breath. She could be a huge flirt, spirits, it came easy to her but flirting with </span>
  <em>
    <span>Zuko</span>
  </em>
  <span>? This was different because she has officially come to a (albeit not entirely </span>
  <em>
    <span>surprising</span>
  </em>
  <span>) conclusion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had a crush on Zuko.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before, Katara knew she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>attracted </span>
  </em>
  <span>to him but she mostly chalked that to the fact that he had once been a really close friend of hers. Never mind the fact that she did fancy him a bit back then.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But now, as she was hanging out with him more and more, she knew she was falling for him. And continuing down this route was going to drive her insane.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara always did have a tendency for living on the edge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She left the door ajar as she crawled into bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ring of her alarm stirred her awake and she groaned, patting around until her hand made contact to the offensive device. Briefly, she was trying to remember the attendance policy for the mythology class before coming to the conclusion that it didn’t matter. Not when there was a warmth radiating from her other side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drowsy and till under the clutches of slumber, she turned over and buried herself against it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good morning to you, too,” laughter rumbled from the warmth and do blankets always talk?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No talking,” she muttered, bringing the blanket over her head. “Only sleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have class in an hour and a half.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blankets have classes? What-- oh.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>follow her to bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, she pulled the blanket back and lifted her head, blinking against the light flooding into her room. And there he was, sitting with his back against her bed frame, typing away on his laptop. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can we just not go?” Grumbling, she pressed herself closer to him, her arm snaking around his side. “You’re too warm and I don’t want to get up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He made an amused sound, easily shifting to accommodate her limb. “You know the instructor sent us an email, talking about how excited she was to see how far we’ve gotten.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So?” She muttered, sighing softly as the heat slowly sank into her. “We can just send one back explaining what we found.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They could definitely do a check-in without necessarily going to class. Their instructor was laid back and Katara was sure she would let them do it this way. Katara was happy with this thought and as her eyes closed, she found herself wiggling around until half her body was on his.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How about a compromise?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That caught her attention and she paused in her moment to look at him with narrowed eyes. “I’m listening.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can email her and ask to be the last to go so we can walk in late.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nose scrunched as she considered his words and even though she would have preferred to not go to class, she could agree to these terms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Katara was a good student.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And what she does next would be for the future her to worry about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, we’ll go on time,” she sighed, dropping her head back onto his shoulder. It didn’t take her long to get dressed and the class wasn't far from her place. “Just give me fifteen more minutes.” Murmuring, she continued her earlier movements until she was resting over his chest, her thighs on either side of him as she closed her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, that,” she heard the hitch in his breath but paid no attention to it as the drowsiness took her further under. Zuko cleared his throat, his arms circle around her and the sound of slow typing reached her ears. “That works.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” her lips curled into a soft smile as she fell asleep again, his warmth settling in her bone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This time, it was the soft call of her name that woke her up and the slightly cooler temperature. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zuko?” Katara rubbed her eyes, sitting up. Looking up at her companion, he was standing by the bed with a tray in his hands. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, sleepy-head. Made some food because I know you won’t eat breakfast otherwise.” One side of his lips quirked. “We do have to get ready to leave soon, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Breakfast in bed?” She moved to rest against the bed frame, eyeing the contents of the tray as he handed it to her. “Might have to go to bed with you every night if I wake up to this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cute,” he rolled his eyes, but Katara could have sworn there was a slight pink hue on his cheeks. “Want me only for my warmth and cooking skills.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her smile was cheeky as she picked up the cup of orange juice. Her mind was starting to clear up from the fog of sleep and she was starting to have fun teasing him. “You also have a cute ass.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Been checking me out, have you?” His grin was coy and he slipped under the covers, sitting up next to her as he pulled the laptop back onto his lap. “Do you wanna drive over or walk? The weather’s pretty nice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She returned his smile before digging into the food he provided for her. “Sure, sure, it’s only a twenty-minute walk from here. You know what would be cool?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Swallowing the bite down, she grabbed the cup. “If bending was actually real. Can you just imagine how awesome it would be if I could lift my hand and control water? Or heat up a cup of tea easily?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stopped typing to turn to her and she could see the wheels turning behind his eyes. “Construction could benefit from earth bending and how fun would it have been to be an </span>
  <em>
    <span>air </span>
  </em>
  <span>bender? That reminds me, actually.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko’s fingers started flying on his keyboard, pausing only when he pulled something up and turned the device towards her. “I was looking more into how bending came to be earlier and I found this interesting thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You sleep for a couple of hours and suddenly, you miss out on everything.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Setting the fork down, Katara leaned closer to get a better look at the screen and skimmed over the text he was showing her. That was, until she landed on the word </span>
  <em>
    <span>badgermole </span>
  </em>
  <span>and moved the try off her lap to bring the laptop closer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Badgermoles?” She muttered in disbelief before taking her time reading the article. “Badgermoles aren’t real and that’s where earth bending came from?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko hummed in agreement. “But isn’t all. According to this, fire bending came from--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Dragons?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” She furrowed her brows, glancing over at him before turning back to the screen. “And air bending from sky-bisons? Those animals are all fairytales and make believe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what I thought. I mean, still think but isn’t it interesting?” He took the laptop back from her and pulled up a map of all the Earth Countries. “In another text that was written in the Fire Nation’s Old Tongue, it talked about a hidden tunnel between this city,” he pointed to it, drawing his finger to another city. “And Omashu. They also talk about badgermoles.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This Avatar myth was getting messier the more they looked into it and Katara sighed. Just when they made a breakthrough, something else stumped them. “Is this tunnel even real?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This time, he grimaced. “As far as I can tell, no, but there have been numerous tales about the tunnel and they’re pretty similar. Almost too similar to be a coincidence, in my opinion.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked over the map once again, an idea starting to take shape in her mind. A crazy one, nonetheless, but they agreed to give their all to this. And it was due time she took a small vacation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just for the weekend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not too far of a drive from here. Why don’t we take this weekend to check that city out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And here I was, thinking bringing that suggestion up would be wild.” He grinned, shutting the laptop as he climbed off the bed. “But the real question is; how are we able to keep this from out friends?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh. Right.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>That didn’t even come to her mind and they would have to be careful about how they said their excuses. With Sokka and Toph constantly pestering where she has been lately, it’s a miracle they haven’t stalked her to find out what she had been hiding. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Letting out a loud huff, she grabbed the tray as she scooted out of the bed. “Sokka is convinced I’m in a love affair and Toph thinks I’m on a secret spy mission.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Aang thinks I’ve started a new sport and Suki believes I got back together with my ex.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow,” Shaking her head, she followed him out of her room. “They need to stop or they’ll hurt their pretty heads. It’s not like we’re getting eloped.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, yes.” He took the tray from her and raised an eyebrow. “And going to find a hidden tunnel system is our vision of a honeymoon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Could it get more romantic?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’ll put our story on that ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Destined Lovers; Perfect Honeymoon</span>
  </em>
  <span>’ show they love so much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That got a laugh out of her as she stepped into the bathroom. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"So, I kind of dropped Zuko's name in front of Katara the other day."<br/>"What happened, Sokka?"<br/>"That's the thing, Aang! Nothing! So I repeated it and she just gave me this weird look."<br/>"Maybe she no longer holds a grudge against him? That happens, you know."<br/>"Something is going on, trust me."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>my updating schedule is nonexistent</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They spent the next couple of days finishing all their assignments along with placating their friends. </p><p>Katara felt bad when she thought about it; she hadn't been around them as often as usual. She couldn't even use the excuse of piling school work — they knew she liked company as she worked. </p><p>And it felt a little evil admitting that she thought the whole thing was amusing. All she could imagine was their reaction when they found out the exact reason why she hadn't been around.</p><p>But hanging out with her friends and studying with them meant Katara hasn't seen Zuko since the day he slept over. If someone asked, she wouldn't admit it but Katara missed him.</p><p>She liked to think he does too if his constant texting were anything to go by.</p><p>She spoke with her friends about the trip and it took a whole day to convince her brother he didn't need to come. It was only when she admitted she wouldn't be alone did he finally concede. Then Katara was sure he would start to interrogate her on who this companion was but he instead just made her promise to message him when she made it.</p><p>Did Zuko already talk to them?</p><p>Sighing, she looked down at her open textbook. The words were starting to swirl now but she had to finish this if there was any chance of not stressing during the trip. </p><p>"... go talk to her. She's alone so maybe she's single."</p><p>No one could really fault her for being more interested in the conversation going on behind her than her school work.</p><p>As casually as she could, Katara looked up and scanned the coffee shop, curious as to who they were talking about. Also, just to keep eyes on the situation incase she was made uncomfortable in any way. But when her search came up empty, she frowned.</p><p>Thinking that maybe she just missed her, Katara stood up and made her way to the cashier, where she would easily get a better glance of the room discreetly. After ordering her coffee, she took this moment to look once again, only to realize that she was right earlier.</p><p>Everyone had been paired up and it was only when she noticed the group of boys were taking peeks at her from the corner of her eyes, did it dawned on her.</p><p>The only person who didn't have any company was <em>her</em>.</p><p>Thanking the barista, Katara picked up her coffee and made her way back to her seat but she was feeling a bit weird. She wasn’t being arrogant but this wouldn’t be the first time someone hit on her. But now that she had finally admitted to herself that she was harboring feelings for Zuko, flirting with anyone else wasn’t sitting well with her.</p><p>“Damn, I was gonna offer to buy her some coffee…”</p><p>“Just go over there and talk to her, bro.”</p><p>Shifting in her seat, Katara quickly thought of a way she could divert their attention without actually saying anything. And maybe she was wrong, maybe they were talking about another girl, but she didn’t want to take the chance of them coming over.</p><p>With one thought coming to mind, she picking up her phone and sent a quick text, biting the straw of her drink while she waited for a reply.</p><p>
  <em> Z: yeah, im free. what’s up? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> K: pls videocall me and play along </em>
</p><p>Immediately, her phone started ringing, and she was sure her sigh of relief was audible.</p><p>“Hey, babes.”</p><p>
  <em> “Hello, gorgeous. Are you still studying?” </em>
</p><p>She felt herself smile, her shoulders relaxing from their tense stance. Turning the volume down slightly, just enough to be over head but not bothering anyone else. “But hey, I’m almost done now.”</p><p>
  <em> “Almost is good enough for me. I’m actually nearby. Wanna grab some dinner?” </em>
</p><p>“Will you let me finish the rest of this assignment later?” Katara teased, already starting to put her things away.</p><p>His coy smile didn’t have to make her stomach flip like that.</p><p>
  <em> “Your brother is absolutely convinced I am joining a cult.” </em>
</p><p>Raising an eyebrow, she stopped shoving her book into her bag to stare at her phone screen. “What stupid thing did you say this time?”</p><p>
  <em> “I don’t need to say anything for your brother to come up with his conspiracy theories. All I said was I didn’t need to tell him why I wasn’t available on Sunday evening.” </em>
</p><p>Sokka could be very dramatic and with the exasperated sigh that left Zuko, she couldn’t help but burst out into giggles. </p><p><em> “You’re my biggest hater.” </em> He rolled his eyes but she could the mirth tucked into the corner of his lips. <em> "Hope you didn't have any plans for the evening." </em></p><p>Smiling, Katara tapped her chin in mock consideration. "If you convince me, I might cancel on them." </p><p>He bared his teeth as he smiled. <em> "I promise to make it your worth your while, princess." </em></p><p>"Oh," she brought her bag on her lap and raised an eyebrow, refusing to show just how much that nickname affected her. "And what exactly did you have in mind?"</p><p>
  <em> "Now, why would I spoil the surprise?" </em>
</p><p>He threw her a wink and then she was left staring at the picture of her and Nami of her home screen. </p><p>She huffed. “How’s he just going to hang up on me like that?” Muttering, her eyes narrowed at the device. "Rude."</p><p>“And who is this beauty?”</p><p>Blinking, Katara then swirled in her seat, her eyes widening. Standing right next to her was her savior of the day and spirits, since when did that smile of his always look so nice?</p><p>She <em>really</em> needed to get a grip of herself. </p><p>“I didn’t keep you waiting long, did I?" His smile widened as he leaned down to pick up her bag.</p><p>Shaking her head slightly, her smile was soft around the edges. "Maybe just a bit."</p><p>"Is that so?" His brow raised, he held out her jacket as she stood up. "What can I do to make it up to you?"</p><p>She was going to tease back, she swore, but when Katara got a better look at him, all thoughts decided to abandon her. He was wearing a turtle neck fitted sweater, <em> burgundy spirits, </em> with a long winter coat and black jeans that had her staring at his leg a moment too long<em>.</em> <em>Fuck, </em>even his hair was up in that top-knot she always found attractive on him. On anyone else, Katara wouldn’t bat her lashes.</p><p>But on Zuko?</p><p>Swallowing the hard lump down her suddenly parched throat, she blurted out the first thing on her mind.</p><p>"Smoothie."</p><p>Forcing herself not to cringe as she stood, her only relief came from when he gave her another one of those secret smiles and nodded. "From Vullih's?"</p><p>It shouldn't surprise her that he remembered her favorite place to get them. Slipping on her jacket, she tilted her head back to catch his eyes. "The one and only."</p><p>"Alright then, princess," he stepped closer and before she could question it, he wrapped an arm around her and tucked her to his side. "How was your day?"</p><p>The warmth radiating from him ended all questions on her tongue. Burying herself further to his side, she rested her head on his shoulder as they began to walk.</p><p>"It was alright. My instructors were all being an ass today, though.” She grumbled, pulling away only so they were able to duck under the front doors. Suddenly missing the heat from him, she found herself under his arm again. “But our test in anatomy was pushed back to next week.”</p><p>“Sounds like a curse disguised as a blessing.” He mused, pulling her close. “Were those guys bothering you?”</p><p>Furrowing her brows at the sudden change in topic, she looked up at him. “Guys?”</p><p>“Yeah, back at the cafe. When I walked in, they were staring at you and one looked pretty disappointed.”</p><p>“<em>Oh, </em>” grimacing, Katara couldn’t believe she forgot about them. It was the sole reason why she called up Zuko in the first place but after talking to it, it slipped her mind. “They were trying to convince one of them to talk to me.”</p><p>“So, what, you turned him down by saying you have a boyfriend?”</p><p>She could hear the amusement in his voice and felt herself blush. Elbowing him, she huffed. “Don’t go inflating your ego. Actually, I, uh” biting the insides of her cheeks, she felt the heat of her cheeks growing. “Asked you to call me before, uh, before he could come over.”</p><p>Silence transcending between them and it was only then did Katara realized that what she said would definitely go to his head.</p><p>“How is this supposed to <em> not </em>inflate my ego?” He grinned down at her and if she wasn’t currently soaking up his warmth, she would have whacked him.</p><p>“You’re my biggest hater,” repeating his earlier words, she settled on giving his side a gentle pinch. “Get me my damned smoothie.”</p><p>His laughter was nice and she smiled despite trying to remain unaffected. </p><p>“So, I have a confession.”</p><p>That never sounded good when it came from him. “Did you take on a dare with Sokka again?”</p><p>“Actually, it was a bet with Suki this time, but that wasn’t what I was going to say.”</p><p>Groaning, she dropped her head back onto his shoulder. “How have you not learned yet? Suki’s bets are deadly compared to Sokka’s dares.”</p><p>Her brother’s dares were usually harmless -- <em> stupid </em>, but harmless. On the other hand, Suki never played around with her bets. And Katara wasn’t someone who never backed down easily but after one too many disastrous turn outs, even she had to concede. </p><p>“My honor was on the line -- I couldn’t just <em> not </em>accept it. Plus, this time,” he gave her a small nudge, mischief glittering in his eyes. “I have on good authority, she'll lose.”</p><p>That wasn’t an easy feat to admit and Katara didn’t quite believe him. Suki had a winning streak at the moment and whatever she brought to Zuko would be something she was confident she could win. “What’s the bet?”</p><p>And just like that, all the bravo he displayed while they were in the coffee shop disappeared. His eyes darting away from her curious ones, his cheeks redding and it piqued her interest more. </p><p>“Zuko?”</p><p>“It’s, uh, I’ll tell you later.” Clearing his throat, he turned back to her, his cheeks still slightly flushed. “So, back to my confession. I told uncle about you.”</p><p>Of all things she was expecting, that wasn’t. “Really?”</p><p>“Really.” He let out an exaggerated sigh and Katara stiffed a giggle. “I told our friends that I would be going on a trip with Uncle but with how suspicious they’ve been lately, I just know Toph or Sokka will try to confirm it with him.”</p><p>“Let me guess. You tried the subtle way but of course, your uncle caught on.”</p><p>“You don’t understand,” he threw the arm that wasn’t around her into the air. “He threatened to phone Toph right then if I didn’t explain why I was using him an excuse.”</p><p>That was something she expected from the old man and Katara couldn’t help the snort. “What did you end up saying?”</p><p>“‘I’m going on a trip with Katara and our friends don’t know we’ve started talking again.’ Needless to say," his smile morphed into one of smugness. "There aren’t many things that surprise my uncle but that definitely did.”</p><p>"No way he let you off that easily." When he didn't continue, she poked his side. "Come on, what's the catch?"</p><p>He was avoiding her gaze again. "Oh, would you look at that! Would you like your usual smoothie?"</p><p>Narrowing her eyes at the abrupt change in topic, she felt her curiosity simmer when they walked into Vullih's Smoothie Shop. "We're grabbing dinner, right? I'll just take a small."</p><p>When they got to the counter, he ordered her a large. "Do you want to come over instead? I was actually planning on making dinner rather than eating out."</p><p>"Oh, really?" Tugging him over to the pick-up counter, she gave him a teasing smile. "Spoiling me more? You know I won't say no."</p><p>"What can I say?" his grin pulled at her heart. "I aim to please."</p><p>Picking up her drink, she hid her smile by taking a sip.</p><p>"Before you called, I was actually about to ask you to come over since we still need to go over our general plan for this weekend."</p><p>His arm was back around her again and Katara was confused. Not because she didn't like it, <em> spirits, </em>she could find herself easily getting addicted to being this close to him. But they no longer had to hold up this facade of whatever it was they were doing. There was no need but instead of pulling away to question him, she tucked herself further to his side. It shouldn't already feel so comfortable.</p><p>Was it possible they could do this more often?</p><p>"What were you thinking?" She asked, trying to her thoughts to remain on topic and not on his muscular arm keeping her snuggled against him. </p><p>"Nothing too specific." She felt his shrug. "Just that I hope we find the tunnel on Saturday so we can spend Sunday in Omashu."</p><p>"I've never been to Omashu," bringing the straw up to her lips, she took another sip. "Heard it's amazing. Why don't we spend the day there regardless if we find anything on Saturday."</p><p>At first, Katara didn't notice him leaning down. But when he places his hand around hers, she was suddenly hyperaware, eyes fixated on his every move. "It's not like we'll get another chance to have a mini vacation with school in session." </p><p>He brought the hand around the smoothie close to his face and before she could ask any questions, he had taken a sip of her drink.</p><p>This wasn't weird, her friends shared food and drink often. But it was the way he locked gaze with her as he did it and he <em> must </em>know the way it would affect her. </p><p>"You're, uh," <em> La </em>, he didn't notice her second-too-long stare at his lips, right? "You're right. Can we," she forced herself to look away from his gaze, feeling warmth crawling up her neck. "Stop by my place real quick, though? I need to give Nami her evening loving.”</p><p>“Sure thing,” he drawled out and she sighed in relief when she felt his eyes were no longer on her. “Might even get yourself an overnight pack—”</p><p>He was cut off by a shout and a shove, voices of an angry man reaching her ears as she stumbled on the sidewalk. Smoothie falling out of her hand, she only had a moment to mourn the loss before she heard further shouts.</p><p>Looking up when she felt Zuko’s heat retreat, she felt the hairs at the back of her neck stand.</p><p>The men that pushed them were trying to shove him back but one of them made the briefest contact on Zuko’s shoulder before he was suddenly thrown down. And from then, Katara wouldn’t have believed it unless she was there to witness it all.</p><p>There were three of the men but Zuko had managed to bring them all to their knees but she wasn’t paying attention to any of them. No, her eyes were on the man that was her crush, that didn’t even seem to break a sweat doing what he did. His expression was cool but a casual smirk was tugging at his lips as he leaned down towards them.</p><p>“You’ve ruined my girl’s smoothie. You owe her an apology.”</p><p>She was too jaw-slacked to do anything but stare at Zuko as the men stumbled over themselves apologizing for the destroyed drink. Even when he dismissed them, her wide eyes never strayed from him. He kept his gaze on them as he brushed off his coat, his expression still holding that causal control. </p><p>It was only when he blinked, as if coming back to himself, did she shake out of her stupor.</p><p>“Zuko, what was <em> that </em>?”</p><p>He looked lost as he found her gaze and she could see the confusion creeping into them. “What?”</p><p>She raised her brows as he approached her, fists on her waist. “When did you learn to fight like that?” How could he have hid such a thing from her? And maybe, just slightly, it was <em> hot </em> to witness. She was shocked, of course, but watching the way he easily took them down <em> and </em>made them apologize? </p><p>It was like she was witnessing a whole different side to Zuko.</p><p>And <em> La</em>, these feelings of hers are going to kill her long before old age could catch up to her.</p><p>“I… didn’t?” His confusion seemed too genuine, as if he had been in a trance when those men attacked and that left Katara baffled as well. “They were shoving us and I don’t even remember what they said but when that first man swung, it was like my body acted without me thinking.”</p><p>“Huh,” she stilled eyed him, curious as to how something like that was possible. Unless he had prior training before. But next to Aang, he was the most pasific man she knew. “Yeah, okay, super-man.”</p><p>“Swear,” he stared down at his hands, the crease between his brows deep, and Katara paused. She liked to think she knew him enough to know when he was faking something. And that expression, she knew it was real. <em> Weird. </em></p><p>Whatever it was, she wondered if he knew how attractive he looked.</p><p>Glancing down, she sighed. Picking up the cup she was drinking from earlier, she looked at it with sadness. “My smoothie.” It was good while it lasted.</p><p>That pulled him out of his thoughts and he came up next to her. “We’re not too far from the shop. Let’s go get you a new one.”</p><p>As tempting as that was, Katara shook her head. She already drank enough and didn’t want to ruin her appetite for whatever he was planning on making later. “It’s alright. I’ll just grab one tomorrow.”</p><p>“No, no, let’s go back.” He brought his hands to hers and pried the cup from her. “Just because those assholes ruined this one doesn’t mean you can’t properly enjoy another.”</p><p>That was an awfully sweet thought and she felt herself smiling softly at him as he threw it away and came back to her. “Get me one tomorrow, then. I want to properly enjoy the dinner you got planned, anyway.”</p><p>He looked ready to argue with her and there was only one way Katara knew would have him agreeing with her instantly. Standing on her toes, she pressed her lips against his scarred cheek, just the barest of touch. As she lowered herself, she then wrapped her arms around him, tucking herself back to his side.</p><p>“Let’s go. Are we taking the streetcar or did you bring a ride?”</p><p>“Uh,” she couldn’t see his face but heard the gulp he took and her grin was not one of an innocent person’s. A moment later, his arms wrapped around her and they started walking down the street. “My car is just down this street.”</p><p>-</p><p>“Hey, I found a train that’ll take us to Si Ma Village and back. It’s actually on a discount this weekend.”</p><p>Katara was sitting on the couch, her legs crossed as she typed away on her laptop. Zuko was sitting on the ground by her legs when she made the discovery.</p><p>“We’ll get there faster and save money on gas.” She continued, turning her laptop around to show him. </p><p>He looked up from his own device, nodding as he read over the website she found. “Sounds good. We should probably book it now then while the price is still down.”</p><p>“Good idea.” Turning the laptop back to her, she went over to the order page. “There’s free tourism rides from that city to Omashu so we won’t have to worry about that.”</p><p>“And I found a great hotel within walking distance from everything. Yay or nay?”</p><p>“Yay. Does six tomorrow evening until six on Sunday work? It’s a three hour train ride.”</p><p>“Sounds perfect to me. And one bed or two?”</p><p>Fingers coming to a halt over her keyboard, she slowly turned her head to look over at him. If Suki was asking, she wouldn’t have thought twice about the question. But since this was <em> Zuko, </em>of course it would catch her attention. Lowering the top of her laptop, her smile was mischievous when he caught her gaze. “Why, like sleeping with me that much already?”</p><p>“Well,” drawing out the word, he rested an elbow on the couch, chin on his palm as he twisted his body to face her properly. She knew she was in trouble when he arched his brow, his smile <em> dangerous </em>. “Since you seemed to like my company so much the other night, thought you’d appreciate the option.”</p><p><em> This motherfucker. </em> “Don’t be shy now, pretty boy,” she brushed her hair over her shoulder and she was <em> flirting </em> and she <em> knew </em> but this man could be so infuriating. “I won’t judge you for admitting you <em> liked </em>my company.”</p><p>“You caught me,” the challenge raised as he broke their gaze, only to click on the one-bedroom. “Going to bed with a beautiful woman next to me? Count me a lucky man.”</p><p>She leaned down until her face was near his as she watched him put his card information to book the room and when it was all said and done, she took it a step further and with her lips brushing against his ear, she purred; “That’s my good boy.”</p><p>A shiver broke out over him and heat started to wash through her. This was <em> risky </em>but when he tilted his head back, she saw the same warmth pooling in his eyes that was slowly growing in her. And it was really then she decided to entertain the notion that he might want her the way she had been wanting him lately. </p><p>And when his gaze slowly made its way to her lips, the warmth threatened to consume her, to burn her and <em> Tui, </em>she wanted it to.</p><p>“Kat…”  It was the way he said her name— so soft yet saying <em> so much, </em> and <em> fuck it. </em></p><p>Katara was going to kiss him.</p><p>But just as she made her decision, just as she was about to grab his shirt and <em> fucking kiss him, </em>the sound of a ringtone cut through the tension.</p><p>She was going to ignore it, let it ring because she’s been thinking about this moment for <em> days, </em>but when recognition flashed in his eyes, she knew this moment wouldn’t happen.</p><p>Frustration bubbling in her, she started to pull away, only to be stopped by her name on his lips again.</p><p>“Later, kitten,” he murmured, his thumb coming up to tug on her bottom lip and it was then she noticed she had it caught between her teeth.</p><p>The nickname, one he hasn’t used on her before, brought the heat and the desire for him rushing back, just to be ripped away again from the obnoxious ringtone of his.</p><p>“Change that awful sound,” groaning, she closed her eyes as she leaned back against the cushion of the couch.</p><p>“Your brother saved it as his personal sound.”</p><p>The regret and disappointment was clear in his voice and Katara decided to bask in that knowledge rather than pout over the chance she almost had. Because if Zuko was <em> disappointed, </em>it meant he was looking forward to kissing her just as she was kissing him, which meant--</p><p>Did he like her back?</p><p>He <em> does, </em>doesn’t he?</p><p>“Katara.”</p><p>Usually, she liked hearing her name sliding off his mouth, but this time, it didn’t fill her the same warmth. He sounded like he was about to panic and that dissipated the giddiness simmering in her. </p><p>“What’s wrong?” She asked, sitting up when he suddenly bolted up.</p><p>“He’s coming.”</p><p>“Coming?” </p><p>“Yes, here, with Toph and Aang.”</p><p>She prided in herself for catching on quickly but when he started fluttering around, she could only stare, dumbfounded, and repeat what he said. “Here?”</p><p>“Yes, Katara, here. About to climb up the stairs, here.”</p><p>
  <em> Oh no. </em>
</p><p>If they were already in the apartment complex, she had no chance of leaving before they saw her. Not with her shoes by the door, her jacket hanging over one of the dining tables, and <em> her overnight bag. </em></p><p>How did she already get so comfortable being here in the last couple of hours?</p><p>“Fuck,” she whispered before remembering to <em> move. </em> “ <em> Fuck, </em>I can’t leave, they’ll see me.”</p><p>“My room. They wouldn’t dare to go in there.”</p><p>“Your room. Yeah, okay.” Sprinting around, she gathered everything she could with the help of Zuko, and they dashed towards the room at the end of the hall. “I forgot how much they like coming without warning.”</p><p>“Ever since I got that new video game, Sokka and Toph have made it their goal to beat me in it.” He sounded amused before sobering back up. “Okay, but I don’t know how long they’re planning on staying. Will you be fine?”</p><p>If she knew her friends, and she <em> did, </em>this wouldn’t be a short visit. But she was already planning on staying for the night so she didn’t find it a problem. Once they were sure that nothing of hers was in the view, she turned to him with a smile as she patted his slightly flushed cheek.</p><p>“Just turn on that charm of yours and don’t act suspicious, okay?” </p><p>He grinned. “I’m a great actor. I have a thing of grapes, some of those chocolate covered biscuit sticks, and pop. Would those be fine?”</p><p>“As long as it isn’t that cherry-flavored soda. And hurry,” she all but gently pushed him out of the room. “Better get me those snacks before opening that front door of yours.”</p><p>“Yes, ma’am.” With a roll of his eyes, he dipped out of the room and was back by the time there were knocks coming from the front door. “Text me if you need anything. I’ll kick them out early.”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah,” attention now on the food he was providing, she ushered him out and closed the door. “Get out.”</p><p>Standing with the snacks in her arms, she turned to look around the room. She’s only been in the room once before making her way quietly to his desk when she heard the sound of her friends.</p><p>It would have been easier to avoid this situation if they just told their friends about being in each other’s lives again but once they agreed to keep it a secret, she didn’t feel the desire to. There was something in having this with Zuko without their friends knowing that was just so <em> exhilarating </em> and she also wasn’t prepared for the consequence of their friends knowing that they were actually about to <em> kiss.  </em></p><p>Mind made up, she gathered some things and headed toward the connected bathroom.</p><p>-</p><p>That was how Zuko found her two hours later; in his bathroom, laying in his tub in her pajamas with her legs propped up on the bathtub ledge, a movie playing on her laptop as she popped grapes into her mouth.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"Maybe Zuko isn't hiding something."<br/>"But there was something off about his apartment."<br/>"I agree with snoozle here — someone was definitely at his house recently."<br/>"Don't you think you guys are just reaching at this point?"<br/>"No, twinkle-toes, his place smelled different."<br/>"And I saw the food in his oven, a meal fit for more than one person. I know! What if he's working with an assassin?"<br/>"Now that is where I stop agreeing with you, Sokka."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i want to give a shout-out to navso311 for the awesome idea they have provided for me &lt;33 thank you so much!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"How'd you get them to leave so quickly?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara was surprised when Zuko informed her that their friends left. Knowing Sokka and Toph, staying for only two hours was a rarity.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Actually, I didn't do anything."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She lifted her head and narrowed her eyes. Katara was no longer in the bathtub; soon after he found her, he took a picture and she claimed his bed in retribution. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was standing near the bed, his eyes betraying his mirth. "Okay, I didn't bring up the idea<em>— </em>Sokka did that all on his own. I just merely endorsed it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Is that so?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko nodded then nudged her leg. "Something about a project being due in the morning. Move over."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, whatever the reason may be, Katara was glad they were gone. Not that she wasn’t uncomfortable in the tub watching her movie, but being in Zuko's company was more appealing. </span>
  <span>And </span>
  <em>
    <span>teasing </span>
  </em>
  <span>him was quickly becoming one of her favorite habits.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Humming, she pretended to take a moment to consider it before shrugging. "I don't think so. I feel quite warm here."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And just like her, he knew a challenge when he heard it. His gaze snapped to hers and uncrossed his arms. "Katara."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shouldn't like having his full attention this much. Pulling the blanket until it was just under her chin, she raised her brows. "Zuko."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Move over."</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>His stare pierced right through her, sending a shock down her spine, pooling just at the base. </span>
  <span>Running her tongue across her bottom lip, Katara kept his gaze as she slowly sat up on her hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This was dangerous.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"Make me."</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Yet, she craved for it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He rested a knee on the bed, his gaze never wavering, the air to be stuck in her lungs. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Spirits</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she would love to have him always stare at her like that. </span>
  <span>Like he </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted</span>
  </em>
  <span> her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And when he pounced, pinning her arms down by her head, she was reminded explicitly about what nearly occurred before her brother called. When he was staring at her </span>
  <em>
    <span>just like that</span>
  </em>
  <span> and about to </span>
  <em>
    <span>kiss her.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Katara…” he murmured, his face hovering just over hers and with him this close, she could feel the warmth he radiated and wanted to reach out to touch him. But being in this position, underneath him with his lips just begging to be kissed, Katara realized how much she liked it. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Sweet spirits above. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Gaze lowering from his eyes to his lips, there was only one thought running through her mind. When he started to lean in, her breath hitched, and he was going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>kiss her</span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <em>— </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A ringing echoed through the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>For fuck's sake.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Zuko</span>
  </em>
  <span>," groaning, she opened her eyes, unaware of when she closed them in the first place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That's not mine."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sounded amused but when she glanced up at him, his eyes were still a brilliant gold, and he hadn’t moved back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she was about to forget what caused the interruption, that blasted phone went off again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And she wanted to ignore it, let it continue to ring, but then Zuko rested his head on her shoulder with a sigh and </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"Next time, we're turning our phones off," she muttered when he rolled off of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughed but little did he know that she was </span>
  <span>serious</span>
  <span>. She was going to get that kiss from him and Katara would rather it be sooner than later. And now that she was more than a little certain he felt somewhat the same way towards her, that eased some of her jittery nerves. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If anything, this meant she would be able to upgrade her teasing with him. And maybe, just </span>
  <em>
    <span>maybe</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she wanted to push him, wanted to see how far his patience, his </span>
  <em>
    <span>control </span>
  </em>
  <span>would last. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With their upcoming trip and the fact that he had booked a room with just </span>
  <em>
    <span>one </span>
  </em>
  <span>bed, she was going to have fun tormenting him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she knew he would meet her equally on it and the thought of </span>
  <em>
    <span>that…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara shook her head, refusing to let her mind finish the thought. Not when he was watching her as she left the bed to dig into her bag for the cursed phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And when she read the caller ID, surprise was the last thing on her mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rolling her eyes, she stood up and made her way back to the bed. "Suki." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka and Suki had a weird thing where they would do the same thing, either unanimously or without realizing it. Which meant Suki could be on her way to her house and Katara grimaced at the idea. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey," she answered the phone, meeting Zuko’s curious gaze with a shrug. Pulling the blanket back, she crawled on the bed and pressed her back against the bed frame. "What's up, Suki?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hadn't realized taking a call while in bed with Zuko wasn’t the best of ideas. Especially when it was with one of their friends and </span>
  <em>
    <span>they </span>
  </em>
  <span>didn't know about their friendship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So when Suki started talking, Katara couldn't focus on anything besides how Zuko curled himself around her and rested his head on her chest. Her free hand on his shoulder, she glared warningly at the cheeky smile he sent her. It seemed as if her only luck so far was the fact that Suki called her instead of a video call. She would realize immediately she wasn’t in her house.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara wasn’t ready for </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“—right?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grimacing, Katara broke her gaze with Zuko’s. “I’m sorry, Kookie. Can you repeat that?” </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uh, I was just wanting to double-check that I would be coming by around lunchtime? To crash at your place?"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” </span>
  <em>
    <span>how could she have forgotten? </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, lunchtime is great!” </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Are you okay, Katara?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she wasn’t because that was the exact moment Zuko tightened his arms around her, his grin borderline wicked and if he doesn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>stop, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she was going to slip up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, everything's<em>— </em>" she tried her best to muffle the shriek she felt crawling up her throat as fingers started to run down her side, tickling her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the midst of gasping giggles, she muted the call, hoping beyond hopeless hope Suki didn’t hear any of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Struggling out of his grip, the phone dropped in the middle of the scuffle, and she </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed to do something.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>One hand slipping into his hair, she tugged, forcing him to look up at her and that smile was still across his lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Zuko," she warned, her fingers tightening when his lips curled further and </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>There was that look again.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>High spirits above, lend me strength.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Clearing her throat, Katara couldn't afford to let herself get distracted. But… she could maybe afford to play </span>
  <em>
    <span>just a little.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"Naughty boy," she muttered, warmth seeping into her bones at his sharp intake of breath, unable to say more when he was staring at her </span>
  <em>
    <span>like </span>
  </em>
  <span>that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He slowly moved until he was hovering right above her, his eyes flashing as he took the hand from his hair and her other one, pinning them above her head. </span>
  <span>Leaning in, a low chortle playing across his tongue. "I can show you just how naughty I can be."</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Sweet La.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"Is that so?" Her voice soft, she looked up at him through her lashes, very much wanting him to close the gap between them, very much wanting to continue off where they were interrupted.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Katara, if you don't respond, I am going to come over."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"Sounds important," he sounded amused, but Katara was anything </span>
  <em>
    <span>but. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Irritated immensely by both Suki once again interrupting her and Zuko's cheekiness, she huffed. He released her hands and as she thought he was going to move away, he buried his head into the side of her neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'd respond if I were you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barely speaking above a murmur, his lips grazed her neck, causing another shiver to tremble through her.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I'm going to kill him.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Fumbling around until her hands found her phone, she paused to take a full breath before unmuting the call.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey, Suki," she winced at the crack in her voice, fingers slipping into Zuko’s hair once again when she felt the rumble of his laughter. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This was all his fault.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Girl, what is going on with you? Do I need to come over?"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara felt bad for worrying Suki but what was she supposed to say? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sorry, I was wrestling with Zuko and we nearly kissed but you're preventing us from doing so.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah, </span>
  <em>
    <span>no.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, no, it's all good, seriously," she needed an excuse, anything to stop Suki from asking further questions. Already, she was distracted by how close the Fire Nation man was and she couldn’t afford to accidentally say something she shouldn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Nala," Zuko whispered and she wondered if Suki could hear her sigh of relief. Maybe he would live to see another day but this doesn’t get him off the hook for the trouble he caused her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I guess Nala wanted some attention; she jumped on my face and the phone fell." </span>
  <em>
    <span>Would that be sufficient?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>And it suddenly went mute?"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe not. </span>
  </em>
  <span>"I guess I accidentally clicked on it while trying to stop it from falling. Anyways," moving around a little to be more comfortable, she needed to move on, choosing to bring the attention onto her. "What's new with you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>From Suki’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘huh’</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Katara knew she didn’t believe her but thankfully, she moved on to answer her question.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You remember that project I was working on? Well, I spoke to my mentor about it and apparently, I’m going to have to change a good chunk of it.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara winced. She hated when it happened to her and she dreaded when it would be her turn to do her senior capstone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And like that, they ended up swapping the tales of their day, with Katara’s being as vague as possible. She was sure Suki would comment on it but seeing how upset she was about the project, Katara wasn’t surprised she hadn’t picked up on it. And the more she was able to focus their conversation on her, there was little chance she would slip up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Well, I’ll let you go. I can only imagine how much you’ve actually got packed.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>How did she know? “I have quite a lot packed already but I do definitely need to get it finished.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I just know you too well, girl. I’ll see you tomorrow.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She wondered how much truth that statement held. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ending the call, she registered the sound of Zuko's soft snore. Her brows raised, she moved slightly until she could catch the sight of his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"He fell asleep," she muttered, the corners of her lips tugging. She couldn't deny it<em>— </em> he looked adorable like this; his head laying on her chest, one arm wrapped around her waist. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He's still wearing a long sleeve shirt, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she mused. Now that she came to think of it, she has only seen him in such shirts ever since their coincidental meet-up on that first day of class. Considering it was getting closer to their colder season, she wasn't entirely surprised. But still, his place was toasty and she knew he was always warm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it has been years since they last interacted<em>— </em> should she really be surprised? She might have known him back then but could she say the same now? Sure, everything has been going so smoothly between them and she has started talking to him more than Suki or Toph lately. But was that still enough to say?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was this fear that was lurking around, though. And she does a great job with keeping it at bay, but now, left with her own thoughts, it was starting to resurface again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe she should confess to someone. Suki was great at secrets and with their friends already suspicious about them, it wouldn’t be long before they figure out the truth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was one thing to admit that they were now friends but from the moments earlier, Katara knew that was no longer true. She was craving more than friendship with Zuko.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are we going to do?” Sighing, she looked back down at the man curled around her. Her fingers through his hair, her thoughts continued to wander, to promises, to moments from before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A memory, one that brings heat to her cheeks, made its way to the front of her mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Brushing one of her ears, she wondered if he noticed her piercings. She does her best to cover them whenever she was around him but there were times she hadn’t bothered to put much effort into it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He told her she would look good with a helix and a daith piercing. And he promised to get any piercing she liked on him if she ever ended up getting them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anyone could see he would look amazing with a brow piercing and she told him such.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their big fallout happened before they could get them together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A year afterward, though, on his birthday, she was washed with a deep longing for him that surprised her. And it didn't help when pictures of them together from a year prior would pop up on her camera roll whenever she opened it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She remembered what he said about the piercing and on a whim, she got them done on that day. Toph thought it was stupid and Suki pointed out the fact that she could reach out to him but she wasn't thinking logically then. Talking to him would have been a less painful act but by then, what was done was already done.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Besides, he wasn’t wrong. She does look good with them but she knew he hadn’t done anything in that regard, though it doesn’t bother her much. Katara wasn’t ashamed of it but if Zuko were to ask about them, she would be embarrassed to tell him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe hiding them for a bit longer wouldn’t be a bad idea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A yawn escaped her, scattering her thoughts and reminding her of the day she has ahead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight, Zuko,” she whispered, tucking herself closer to him, slumber taking over her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You don’t know what you’re talking about!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The first connection of their pain; their mother.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Maybe you could be free of it.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe, maybe, maybe—<br/>
</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I thought you had changed!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I have changed!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>They changed and remained the same, a broken heart and a storming soul.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Waking up with a jolt, she clutched her shirt, her breathing coming in hard gasps. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no,” she looked around wildly, before they landed on an equally disgruntled person and<em>—</em><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she snarled, moving around until she was crouching, her eyes narrowing at him with fierce anger. “How </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare </span>
  </em>
  <span>you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare </span>
  </em>
  <span>I?” He responded, his glare burning just as hers were freezing. She gripped the cover in a tight fist<em>— </em> how dare he look at her? “You expected me to do something else? I wouldn’t turn back on my nation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>killed </span>
  </em>
  <span>him!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>How dare he be in her presence?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Letting out an angry shout, she surged forward, with her only thoughts to </span>
  <em>
    <span>fight.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He blocks her attack but Katara would avenge the Avatar’s death, would fight to rid the world of the evils and bring peace back. And </span>
  <em>
    <span>he was in the way.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you changed!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have changed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But underneath the anger, underneath the absolute fury she felt towards him, she doesn’t want to think about it but there was something else.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She thought he changed. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She </span>
  <em>
    <span>trusted </span>
  </em>
  <span>him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I trusted you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He snarled, parrying her attack, one of his arms swinging. “That was your mistake.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A howl escaping her lips, she shifted to the side, rearing around to tackle him to his side.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Trusted. Trust.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>And as quickly as the ferocious feelings clouded her mind, they receded, her hands hovering just above his face and leaving her to look into an equally confused stare of Zuko’s.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” she blinked, looking around to understand better what had just happened. “What was…” sitting back, she found his gaze again. “What was </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko sat up, only to groan halfway through and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Did we just fight?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my spirits,” still feeling disoriented, Katara started to feel some of the soreness herself. And just as they both sat in front of each other, it was starting to return to her. And along with it, the dream she had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"These dreams…" she pressed her palm against her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why did that feel so real…" he groans, dropping down right next to her. "Why did I feel like I betrayed you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"For a moment," she paused, lifting her head. "I really, truly, felt hurt by you. And just </span>
  <em>
    <span>angry.</span>
  </em>
  <span>"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Almost like what happened two years ago but for some reason, this felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>more. </span>
  </em>
  <span>This betrayal cut her deep and even with the emotions receding, there were still some lingering talons grabbing onto her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko jerked his head in her direction, causing Katara to watch him warily. She has no idea where the strength she processed earlier came from but right now, she wouldn’t be able to hold up on her own. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, did we have the same dream?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The question surprised her. She had suspected they had the same from what happened, but they hadn’t confirmed it and now, she was starting to get weirded out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was yours about?” She asked, but she was already certain about the answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And when they recounted as much detail as they could, her thoughts had been confirmed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t like what any of this means,” Zuko muttered, breaking the silence that settled around them, his head resting on her lap.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That makes the two of them.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are we getting them?” She let out a sigh, her head resting back against the bed board. “And the same one, too?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Groaning, he pulled himself up. “It’s too early to have a headache.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That pulled a chuckle out of her and she nodded. Besides, since she woke up earlier than she was expecting, it meant she had time to eat before leaving to pick her cat up from her neighbors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had a boy who loved Nala so much that when they asked if he could play with her, she didn’t have the heart to say no. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And her cat loved him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After bidding Zuko farewell, she pulled her phone out. She wasn’t done packing and she knew just the person who would help her out on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Swiping through her contacts until she found the right person, she dialed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Katara, calling me so early in the morning? Who are you and what have you done to my friend</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever, Suki.” Rolling her eyes, she snickered. It was a well-known fact that Katara does not favor being up earlier than noon but with sleep the last thing on her mind, she invited her over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I was already planning on swinging by earlier, anyways. I knew you would need help with the finishing touches. Besides</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” from the groan, Katara had a pretty good idea what she was going to say next. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Toph made it explicitly clear that she was happy to have the place to herself. Aang and Jin crashed over last night</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why didn’t you go over to my brother’s?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Haru had someone over.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe this was karma for the way they ruined the moments she nearly had with Zuko.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Are you out at this time, too?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh no. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“I’ll see you in a bit!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She would give her an earful for how quickly she hung up the phone but Katara could already feel the questions she had for her and now wasn’t the time she wanted to hear them.  It was already going to prove difficult to answer them when she does arrive and she could take the alone time she had to prepare herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stopping by her neighbors before heading home, she was staring at the clothes on her bed. She wasn’t packing too much<em>— </em> it was only a weekend trip. But she was going to spend it with Zuko so she needed to look good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sound of a doorbell shook her out of her thoughts and after taking a moment to collect her wit, she opened the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, girlie.” Her friend stepped into the apartment, holding up a tray of drinks. “We have a few hours before you head out, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup,” she popped her lips, closing the door behind Suki. “I wanted to finish it early so I have time to submit an assignment quickly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t get everything done already?” Suki tsked but she simply shrugged. It wasn’t entirely her fault; yesterday was a handful. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yesterday was a weird day,” Katara said simply</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before she had everything she needed packed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So,” Suki flopped onto her bed, her gaze sharp and </span>
  <em>
    <span>ah. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Katara knew it wasn’t just a stroke of luck that she hadn’t asked any questions yet. With having completed her assignment and nearly finished getting herself prepared for the trip, she had no excuses to hide behind now. “You gonna tell me who you're going with?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara was suddenly interested in the seams of her shirt. “Just a classmate, really.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh,” she didn’t need to see her expression to know her answer wasn’t enough. But it was what Katara could say without actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>lying. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“A classmate, you say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded, lifting her head to throw her a smile. “Yeah. Nothing big, promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re going on a weekend trip with a classmate who you won’t share any details about.” Her friend spoke slowly and when she put it in that way, Katara could see how silly it sounded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But again, it wasn’t a lie so Katara continued to push the narrative. “It’s kind of part of this project we’re working on. And I also want to visit Omashu.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki stared at her for a moment, as if weighing how much truth held in her statement, before blurting out her next question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you hiding a secret lover?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taken aback by the question, Katara gaped. But when she thought of it, it did look like that, didn’t it?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the sudden thought of it started building a sound in her chest and before she knew it, she was doubling over, laughter spilling from her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good one,” she gasped, standing up from her where she was kneeling. “No, I’m not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though, maybe after this trip, the answer to that might be different.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it looked like that was able to curve Suki’s concern because she was smiling at her and then rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know, what a weird question. Anyways, do you want to be dropped off or are they going to pick you up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This, she was prepared to answer. “I’m going to take a taxi over to the train station<em>—</em>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sound of her phone going off interrupted her and upon looking over at it, a sound of surprise coming from her. “On second thought<em>—</em>” </span>
  <span>Grabbing her bag from where it rested near the door, she gave her a sheepish smile. “Turns out they took the liberty to pick me up. So,” slipping on her shoes and making sure she had everything she would need, she leaned over and placed a kiss on Suki’s cheek. “I’ll catch you in a couple of days!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re being suspicious again.” The older woman shook her head but waved at her as she made her way out of the apartment. “Be safe, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I left you details of where we’ll be staying at. Bye, Suki!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Closing the door behind her, she let out a sigh as she took a moment to gather herself. Worried that Suki would try to follow her, she hurried down the stairs, mentally preparing to scold Zuko for pulling up unannounced.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew she was coming over to watch Nala and to have a quiet apartment to herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seeing the car ahead, at least he had the common sense to come in a taxi. “This idiot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The trunk opened as she came up to the car, she placed her stuff into it before slipping into the seat in the back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You knew Suki came over.” Were her first words to him as she closed the door. “Were you trying to get us found out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I figured you would be able to say something.” He had the audacity to give her a cheeky grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Scowling, she rolled her eyes at him. Giving the taxi driver her gratitude, she leaned back against the seat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was hardly any space between her and Zuko but for once, Katara couldn’t focus on this. Her mind wandered back to their dreams and she couldn’t get over how they both had the same one. She would usually dismiss such things but then she remembered about the other one they had not too long ago. It wasn't exactly the same but it was close enough that it bothered her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And the fact they felt so </span>
  <em>
    <span>real </span>
  </em>
  <span>doesn’t escape her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was nothing like the dreams she has had before<em>— </em> <em>this</em> was different.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a nudge on her shoulder, effectively pulling her out of her thoughts. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s on your mind?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko’s brows furrowed in concern and Katara sighed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m thinking about those dreams we’ve been getting.” She hesitated to say the next part, for fear he would think she was insane but if then again, they were both a little insane. “They don’t exactly feel like dreams.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stared at her for a moment before slowly nodding. “I was thinking the same. It felt too real as if someone had taken over my body and was reliving an experience.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was glad it wasn’t just her that felt it was more than a dream. “And you know the crystals that were everywhere? It reminds me of Crystal Catacombs they have here in Ba Sing Se.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait,” Zuko pulled away a bit with a frown. “Is that so? I’ve never been there. How is it possible that I dreamt of it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara was starting to come to a conclusion, one she wasn’t entirely sure she believed. They had no idea how the Avatar was an air bender first when the Fire Nation wiped them all out but as if to answer that very question, she had the first dream. She was there, breaking a kid out of an iceberg who ended up being the Avatar. But before he told her and Sokka about being the Avatar, she noticed he was an air bender first. The fact that she felt was true, despite having no idea how to tell such a thing-- despite not necessarily believing such could exist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was scared, surprised then. Because she heard herself tell the Avatar one thing; that the air benders have been gone for a long time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And with how real it felt, Katara was no longer thinking it was simply just dreams. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if they aren’t dreams?” She spoke softly, catching his gaze. The theory was insane<em>— </em> how could it be something </span>
  <em>
    <span>besides </span>
  </em>
  <span>dreams? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t shooting the idea down but seemed genuinely confused. It encouraged her to continue. “Remember how we were trying to figure out how the Avatar was an air bender?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he nodded, she moved on. “That night, it was the first time we got those dreams, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, do you remember what I told you my dream was about? My brother and I were at the South Pole and we broke out a kid from an iceberg. He was an air bender and I remember just a feeling of utter disbelief when he told us that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her gaze was steady on his, and knowing she was onto something and wanted him to believe her.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Where his gaze was searching at first, she saw acceptance start to creep into them. He leaned back against the seat of the car and glanced away briefly before finding her eyes again. “Huh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She recognized that look on his face and remained quiet. He was thinking and she could assume he was coming to the same conclusion she had as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And just as she thought, he gave her a small nod. “That’s a crazy concept but it makes the most sense. Also, it couldn’t be a mere coincidence that the same day we wonder how an air bender managed to survive and end up in the South Pole, we get those dreams.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly. We couldn’t figure it out and suddenly, I’m breaking a kid out of an iceberg? Who happens to be the Avatar?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait…" he furrowed his brows, his expression uncertain. "I know we were thinking that the war was something that did actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>happen-</span>
  </em>
  <span> are you thinking that maybe…?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She knew what he was thinking but that possibility of </span>
  <em>
    <span>that... </span>
  </em>
  <span>“It can’t be true, though. Controlling elements? A possibility?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But even as the words passed her lips, Katara knew she didn’t entirely believe what she said. The mere thought of it should be banished from her thought, but for some bewildering reason, it lingered there, forcing her to consider it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If the war was real, there was a chance that bending was, too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a bit ridiculous to think so, right?” Zuko huffed out a sigh bordering amusement and confusion, his gaze wandering as he leaned back against the seat of the car. “But I can’t shake off the possibility of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With Zuko voicing out her exact feelings over the whole situation, she couldn’t ignore it anymore. Even if simply entertaining the thought would seem insane to anyone else, Katara knew it had to have some merit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They needed to do some more research.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a groan, Katara’s shoulders dropped. She hoped they wouldn’t come up with more questions before finding the tunnel but with the way everything had been, was all of this really a surprise?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How about,” she muttered, resting her head against the seat, close enough to him that if she wanted, she could lay it on his shoulder. “We don’t think of any more theories or questions until after our trip?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he let out a short laugh in agreement, she let her head drop onto his shoulder.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>the next chapter will be a bonus chapter. hint; it won't be from katara's POV but it'll definitely be filled with crack :D</p><p>"No way is this a coincidence."<br/>"Thank you, babe. See, Aang? Even Jin agrees!"<br/>"But even Iroh backed up what Zuko said! You know he wouldn't waste a chance to embarrass Zuko."<br/>"Aang, my love, you've seen how suspicious Katara has been, too."<br/>"...you're not wrong."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Bonus</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>a short bonus chapter! hope you like this &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I am glad to see everyone here today.”</p><p>Sokka looked around his sister’s living space and kept his facial expression as neutral as possible. Thankfully, Suki had asked Katara before she left if it was alright for everyone to gather here and once she was given the okay, Sokka didn’t hesitate to drag everyone over. This was a very important affair and with those it concerned gone, it was the perfect opportunity to go over their notes.</p><p>He locked his gaze with each person for a short amount of time before nodding his head at his partner.</p><p>Suki gave a curt nod before addressing the rest of the room. “As I am sure you are all aware, two of our friends have been acting strange the past couple of weeks.”</p><p>“And not strange that could be due to the stress of school.” He added.</p><p>“But a certain type of strange where it is almost identical,” Suki said.</p><p>When Katara was leaving, she mentioned her trip was with a classmate. This was a red flag for Suki; why wouldn’t her friend tell her who it was? If anything, it made Suki more determined to find out what was going on with her and why the sudden trip to Omashu.</p><p>As for Sokka, he liked to think he knew his best friend and sister well.</p><p>At first, when Zuko came back from his one-year trip to the Fire Nation, he was hesitant to start a friendship with him again. Whenever Zuko and Katara landed in any argument, it used to be a source of headache for him and he wanted in no way for those dreadful throbs to overtake his brain again. </p><p>So with careful crafting, he accepted Zuko’s apology and decided to be friends with him again. And he kept this away from Katara. He always felt guilty about it, almost as if he was going behind her back as family.</p><p>His sister and friend were now acting strange, brushing off any suspicion or concern they had, and somehow, they were unable to be in reach around the same time. <em> Something </em>was going on with them and there was only one logical reason for such.</p><p>“I’m telling you, they’re probably fucking behind our backs.”</p><p>Sokka scoffed at the thought. Though he couldn’t completely rule that out so, with a shrug, he had to agree with Toph.</p><p>Aang raised a hand. “I think we’re starting to take this out of proportion.”</p><p>“Hey,” Toph scrunched her nose, tilting her head in the direction of his voice. “You agreed with us yesterday.”</p><p>He blinked, leaning back into the embrace of Jin. “I know. But what if there was another reason for why they’re acting the way they are? We can’t rule anything out.”</p><p>Jin, with an amused twinkle in her eyes, patted the earth kingdom woman’s thigh. “He agrees. He just wants to give them the benefit of doubt.”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah,” Toph snorted, her face softening as she leaned her head against Jin’s shoulder. “We’ll come up with other reasons but I bet that they’ve started talking with each other and aren’t telling us about it.”</p><p>Aang smiled over at her and took her hand, pressing a kiss on the back of it, and Toph was <em> blushing. </em></p><p>Sokka rolled his eyes at the three of them as they continued to cuddle. It was all cute and he adored them but it was taking the seriousness of this meeting away. He held up his hand, satisfied only when everyone had settled down.</p><p>“Haru and I have started documenting Zuko’s moves and something isn’t adding up. He told me he was taking only two classes but I don’t think that’s true.”</p><p>“He told me he was going to graduate this year and based on the credits he has left, he would need to take <em> three </em>classes this semester.” Speaking up for the first time, Haru had barely glanced up from his phone. He then held up his phone, showcasing the notes he kept in it. “And with what I can make of his schedule, he probably does have another class.”</p><p>Sokka nodded. He believed this was the case as well but when they wanted to further their investigation and follow Zuko, they somehow always lost track of him. Regardless of that, he was certain they were right.</p><p>“Katara usually takes four classes per semester so when she told me it was only three this time, I knew something was off.”</p><p>The Kyoshi woman knew her friend and when she came over at the beginning of the term with the announcement of only taking three classes, it didn’t make sense to her. Plus, there were specific times she wouldn’t be able to hang out and Suki assumed it was due to her not being a morning person. But the more she thought about it, the less it made sense. </p><p>The water tribe man held up a finger as he fiddled with his bag, a sound of triumph escaping him as he held up a tablet.  “We also compared the times they said they couldn’t hang out and guess what?”</p><p>Suki swapped her frown for a smile and stood right next to Sokka as he displayed what was on the screen. “Is it a coincidence that they almost always overlapped with each other?”</p><p>“Based on this,” Sokka grinned, wrapped his free arm around Suki’s shoulder. “I conclude that my sister and Zuko have started talking to each other and are currently on a trip together.”</p><p>There was a moment of silence before murmurs of agreement were heard across the room.</p><p>All, besides one.</p><p>“But Uncle Iroh also said he was traveling with Zuko.”</p><p>It was one piece of information that slipped Suki's mind. With a groan, she looked back over at Sokka. It was the one piece she couldn’t fit into their suspicions.</p><p>“And if Katara is traveling with a classmate, it wouldn’t be with Iroh.”</p><p>They couldn’t argue against that thought so silence overtook the room. The older man didn’t fit in their theory of Zuko and Katara traveling together but there were simply too many coincidences for them to ignore this possibility. </p><p>“Wait.”</p><p>Toph broke the silence. Her brows raising, she pulled away from her partners and clasped her hands in front of her. “Say you wanted to get away with someone for a couple of days but you had noisy friends who wouldn’t leave you alone. What would you do?”</p><p>Furrowed her brows, Suki looked over at her boyfriend, catching his equally confused stare. Thinking about the scenario, what would she do in that position? If brushing off the questions weren’t working then she would find someone who--</p><p>Someone who would back up her story. Someone who would confuse her friends.</p><p>“Oh my god.”</p><p>“That’s right, Ms. Warrior.” Toph clicked her tongue, a grin growing on her lips. “I am betting on Iroh being in on it.”</p><p>Sokka blinked, followed by a small snort. That wasn’t an unlikely possibility -- that man loved to see how anything entertaining would unfold. And in this case, watching how Katara and Zuko would try to convince them they weren’t seeing each other would definitely be entertaining.</p><p>“Plus, they also left on the same day and will be back around the same time. How can that not be suspicious?” Jin spoke up, a chuckle escaping her. “I don’t even think they’re trying that hard to hide it.”</p><p>“Well,” dropping to the ground, Sokka laid down, stretching out before continuing his sentence. “I’ll like to see how they try to convince us they weren’t together in Omashu now.”</p><p>“Zuko did say he was heading to Si Ma Village instead. Maybe that’s where they went instead.” Suki pointed out, sitting down next to Sokka when he held his hand out to her. “Regardless, both cities are right next to each other.”</p><p>“Honestly,” Aang sat forward. “I feel like this was all too easy.”</p><p>Lifting his head, Sokka gave him a puzzled look. “What’s too easy?”</p><p>He shrugged, waving his hand in a vague direction. “It feels as if they wanted us to figure out they were hanging out with each other. Since we never told each other we still kept in contact, they’re doing the same with us.”</p><p>“Like they’re fucking with us?”</p><p>Aang nodded, showing his agreement with Toph.</p><p>“In that case,” his grin turning mischievous, his gaze caught his girlfriend. “We’ll just have to fuck with them now.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"Zuko, I think our friends are getting pretty suspicious."<br/>"We did say we were leaving on the same day to similar locations. I'd be surprised if they weren't."<br/>"Well, knowing them, they won't stop pestering us until we relent."<br/>"In that case, I say we continue to fuck with them."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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